Section  ^^S? 


PRIZE  ESSAYS 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 


1911 


To  this  Essay  was  awarded  the 

Herbert  Baxter  Adams  Prize 

IN  European  History 

for  191 1 


(       FEB  1.9  191 
The  Political  Activities^v'p.  -^^ 

Baptists  and  Fifth  Monarchy  Men 

In  England 
During  the  Interregnum 


LOUISE  FARGO  BROWN,  PH.D. 

INSTRUCTOR    IN    HISTORY    IN    WELLESLEY    COLLEGE 


WASHINGTON:     AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATION 

LONDON:      HENRY   FROWDE 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1912 


Copyright,  iqh 

!y  The  American  Historical  Association 

Washington    D.  C. 


THE  LORD  BALTIMORE  PRESS 
BALTIMORE,  MD.,  U.  S.  A. 


TO  MY  MOTHER 


PREFACE. 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  set  forth  the  attitude 
toward  the  Enghsh  government,  in  one  of  the  most 
troubled  periods  of  its  history,  of  two  reHgious  bodies 
which  by  a  large  number  of  their  contemporaries  were 
considered  enemies  of  all  government,  and  sworn  foes 
of  peace  and  order.  Twice  in  a  period  of  six  years  the 
men  belonging  to  these  two  parties  were  actually  in  a 
position  to  affect  the  policy  of  the  government;  for 
part  of  the  period  one  of  them  practically  controlled 
Ireland,  and  throughout  the  Protectorate  they  were  a 
serious  problem  to  Cromwell.  I  have  endeavored  to 
ascertain  as  far  as  possible  to  what  extent  the  political 
programs  of  the  two  parties  furnished  justification  of 
the  popular  opinion  concerning  them,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, what  was  their  real  importance  in  the  history 
of  their  time. 

I  have  used  throughout  the  term  Baptist,  which  in 
the  period  under  consideration  had  begun  to  be  em- 
ployed by  the  Baptists  themselves,  in  place  of  the  less 
convenient  terms  "  baptized  believer  "  and  "  baptized 
brother  ".  The  name  Anabaptist,  never  accepted  by 
the  Baptists  themselves,  was  practically  the  only  one 
applied  to  them  by  outsiders.  There  was,  however, 
great  confusion  as  to  its  use :  Independents  and  other 
sectaries  usually  applied  it  to  the  Baptists  alone  ;  Royal- 
ists, foreigners,  and  sometimes  Presbyterians,  made  it 
include  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  and  all  other  extreme 
(vii) 


viii  PREFACE 

sectaries,  and  sometimes  it  was  used  yet  more  loosely 
as  a  mere  term  of  reproach. 

Of  the  materials  used,  the  most  important  have  been 
such  collections  of  contemporary  correspondence  as  the 
Thurloe  Papers,  both  printed  and  manuscript,  the  let- 
ters of  Henry  Cromwell  and  those  of  the  French  am- 
bassador Bordeaux;  and  contemporary  pamphlets, 
especially  the  great  Thomason  Collection  in  the  British 
Museum.  A  good  deal  of  information  has  been  pieced 
together  from  scattered  references  in  the  Calendars  of 
State  Papers,  the  Reports  of  the  Historical  MSS.  Com- 
mission, the  Clarke  Papers,  and  in  the  Tanner,  Carte, 
and  Clarendon  MSS.  Records  of  individual  churches 
are  unfortunately  scarce.  Some  few  are  available  in 
manuscript,  and  several  of  these  have  been  made  ac- 
cessible in  print  by  the  Hanserd  KnoUys  Society  and, 
more  recently,  by  the  Baptist  and  Congregational  his- 
torical societies  of  London.  The  two  societies  last 
named  are  making  commendable  efforts  to  publish  all 
existing  material  for  the  early  history  of  the  Separatist 
churches.  Doubtless  the  forthcoming  volumes  of  Mr. 
Champlin  Burrage  will  also  contain  valuable  material. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Professor 
C.  H.  Firth,  to  Dr.  William  A.  Shaw,  to  Mrs.  S.  C. 
Lomas,  and  to  Dr.  Frances  G.  Davenport,  for  advice 
and  assistance  most  kindly  given  me  when  I  was  gath- 
ering my  material.  Grateful  acknowledgments  are  also 
due  to  Mr.  Frank  H.  Robinson  of  the  Baptist  College 
of  Bristol,  and  to  Dr.  W.  T.  Whitley  of  Preston,  for 
their  courteous  answers  to  letters  of  inquiry;  to  Mr. 
Hubert  Hall  of  the  Public  Record  Office,  and  to  the 
librarians  of  the  British  Museum,  the  Bodleian  Library, 
the    Dr.    Williams    Library,   the    Friends'    Reference 


r  KEF  ACE  IX 

Library  at  Devonshire  House,  the  Congregational 
Library  in  London,  and  the  Guildhall  Library ;  to  the 
custodians  of  records  at  Somerset  House,  and  to  the 
provost  of  Worcester  College,  Oxford.  I  am  under 
a  special  debt  of  gratitude  to  Professor  R.  C.  H.  Cat- 
terall,  who  has  been  my  untiring  guide  and  helpful 
critic  from  the  inception  of  this  work  until  its  com- 
pletion. I  wish  also  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the 
kindness  of  those  who  have  helped  the  book  through 
its  final  stages,  especially  that  of  Miss  Grace  L.  Filer, 
who  has  aided  me  in  innumerable  ways,  for  which  all 
words  of  thanks  must  be  inadequate. 

L.  F.  B. 
Wellesley,  Massachusetts, 
September,  igii. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Preface vii 

CHAPTER  I. 
Baptists  and  Fifth  Monarchy  Men      .         .         .         i 

CHAPTER  n. 
Government  by  the  Saints  ....       28 

CHAPTER  HI. 

The  Protector  and  the  Saints       ....       44 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Saints  in  Prison  and  out  of  Prison      ...       76 

CHAPTER  V. 
Kingdom  Building 103 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Ireland  and  the  Protectorate        .         .         .         .136 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Overturning,  Overturning,  Overturning        .         -171 

Bibliographical  Notes 207 

Bibliography 215 

(xi) 


CHAPTER  I. 

Baptists  and  Fifth  Monarchy  Men. 

It  is  evident  to  students  of  the  Protectorate  period 
that  the  rehgious  views  of  the  men  who  were  directing 
pubhc  affairs,  and  the  attitude  of  the  various  sects 
toward  the  g-overnment,  were  very  important  elements 
in  the  fortunes  of  England  during  those  difificult  years. 
The  problems  of  Cromwell,  in  adjusting  to  political  exi- 
gencies his  own  ideas  on  the  subject  of  religion  and  of 
church  organization ;  his  real  perplexity  and  sorrow  in 
dealing  with  conscientious  men  whose  scruples  he 
understood,  and  with  whose  pleas  for  liberty  of  con- 
science he  sympathized :  these  were  factors  of  consid- 
erable weight  in  shaping  the  destinies  of  the  Protec- 
torate. The  curious  attempt  at  government  by  a  body 
of  men  chosen  for  their  godliness,  and  the  alternation 
of  governments  which  gave  the  country  over  to  confu- 
sion in  the  period  which  followed  Richard  Cromwell's 
abdication :  these,  as  well  as  the  days  of  the  Protector- 
ate, can  be  better  understood  after  a  study  of  the 
activities  of  two  bodies  of  men,  frequently  confused 
even  by  contemporaries — the  politico-religious  party 
known  as  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  and  the  members  of 
the  Baptist  denomination.  It  will  be  necessary,  before 
beginning  such  a  study,  to  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  policy 
and  characteristics  of  each  of  these  bodies. 

Of  all  the  forms  of  Protestantism  to  which  the  Ref- 
ormation gave  birth  there  was  one  which,  more  nearly 


2  BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

than  any  other,  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion  the 
great  principle  that  it  is  the  right  of  every  man  to  seek 
God's  truth  in  the  Scriptures,  and  mould  his  life  in 
accordance  with  that  truth  as  he  sees  it.  When  the 
great  heroes  of  the  Reformation  found  it  expedient  to 
put  limitations  on  that  principle,  the  men  called  Ana- 
baptists clung  to  it  still,  and,  harried  from  land  to  land, 
beset  with  reproachful  names,  forced  to  shoulder  all 
the  crimes  of  misguided  fanatics  attached  to  the  skirts 
of  their  movement,  carried  their  faith  into  all  the 
corners  of  Europe.  The  salient  feature  of  that  faith 
was  the  principle  that  a  church,  according  to  Scripture, 
is  a  voluntary  association  of  believers,  with  whose 
organization  and  support  the  state  has  nothing  to  do, 
and  over  whose  belief  and  worship  no  civil  power  has 
jurisdiction.  The  name  Anabaptist,  applied  as  a  term 
of  reproach,  arose  out  of  their  contention  that,  in 
Scripture,  baptism  was  the  sign  of  admission  into  the 
community  of  believers,  and  that  consequently  infant 
baptism  was  without  validity.  All  the  great  leaders 
of  the  Anabaptists  were  apostles  of  religious  tolerance, 
and  many  held  that  no  Christian  should  be  a  magistrate, 
engage  in  warfare,  take  an  oath,  or  go  to  law.  A  small 
number  developed  pronounced  millenarian  views,  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  existing  magistracy,  and 
advocated  the  establishment  of  Christ's  kingdom  by 
force.  It  was  the  attempt  of  this  faction  to  carry  out 
its  views  in  the  city  of  Miinster  that  brought  more  dis- 
credit on  the  Anabaptists  than  any  other  event  in  their 
history,  and  the  excesses  there  indulged  in  were  thence- 
forth very  generally  ascribed  to  all  opponents  of  infant 
baptism.  The  term  Anabaptism,  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  represented  to  the  average  man 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN  3 

not  the  doctrines  taught  by  Hans  Denck,  Balthasar 
Hiibmaier,  Caspar  Schwenckfeld,  or  Menno  Simons, 
but  those  upheld  by  Knipperdoling  and  John  of  Leyden 
in  their  short-Hved  Westphalian  kingdom.  Yet  the 
credit  of  these  latter  had  collapsed  with  their  dream 
of  power,  while  the  disciples  of  the  former  carried  their 
faith  down  the  centuries/ 

The  Anabaptists  of  Holland  were  the  spiritual  fore- 
fathers of  the  English  Baptists.  Although  scattered 
persons  in  England,  from  Reformation  days  on,  held 
the  distinctive  tenets  of  the  Continental  Anabaptists, 
there  is  no  record  of  any  permanent  congregation  be- 
fore the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  century.''  The 
first  group  of  English  Baptists  were  dissenters  from 
the  English  Separatist  church  in  Amsterdam.  They 
had  fallen  under  the  influence  of  the  Mennonites  there, 
and  from  their  adoption  of  the  belief  in  universal  re- 
demption came  to  be  known  as  General  Baptists. 
Members  of  this  group,  settling  in  London,  formed  the 
first  permanent  Baptist  church  in  England  in  161 1. 
Their  ideas  spread,  and  by  1626  there  were  at  least 
three  General  Baptist  churches  in  London,  and  others 
in  Lincoln,  Sarum,  Coventry,  and  Tiverton.* 

The  second  group  of  Baptists,  who  held  Calvinistic 
views  and  were  consequently  known  as  Particular  Bap- 

^  The  subject  is  fully  treated  in  Keller,  Geschichte  der  Wiedertaufer. 
See  also  Lindsay,  Reformation,  II,  430  ff.,  and  the  last  edition  of  Her- 
zog's  Realencyclopadie. 

*  For  the  sufferings  of  these  early  Baptists,  see  Crosby,  English  Bap- 
tists, I,  33  ff. ;  Tracts  on  Liberty  of  Conscience  (Hanserd  Knollys  Soc), 
Introduction;  Heath,  "The  Anabaptists  and  their  English  Descendants," 
in  Contemporary  Review,  LIX  (1891),  392  ff. 

'Crosby,  English  Baptists,  I,  68  ff. ;  Barclay,  Inner  Life  of  the  Relig- 
ious Societies  of  the  Commonwealth,  95  ff.;  Whitley,  ed..  Minutes  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  General  Baptist  Churches,  1654-1728,  I,  xii-xvi. 


4  BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

tists,  had  their  origin  in  a  secession  from  the  Independ- 
ent church  founded  in  Southwark  by  Henry  Jacob, 
formerly  pastor  of  an  EngHsh  congregation  in  Zeeland. 
The  seceders  opposed  the  recognition  of  the  EngHsh 
parish  churches  as  true  churches,  because  they  were 
not  formed  in  accordance  with  the  voluntary  principle, 
and  some  of  them  had  come  to  disbelieve  in  the  baptism 
of  infants.  The  new  church  was  organized  under  the 
leadership  of  John  Spilsbury  in  1633.  Five  years  later 
William  Kiffin  and  other  seceders  from  Jacob's  church 
joined  their  congregation,  which  afterward  split  into 
two  equal  parts,  one  under  the  leadership  of  Praise-God 
Barbone,  the  other  under  that  of  Henry  Jessey.  Han- 
serd  Knollys,  a  Cambridge  man  who  had  spent  some 
time  in  New  England,  was  for  a  time  a  member  of 
Jessey 's  church,  but  in  1644  he  organized  a  congrega- 
tion of  his  own.  In  this  way  the  movement  spread, 
until  eleven  years  later  there  were  seven  of  these  Par- 
ticular Baptist  churches  in  London,  and  forty-seven  in 
other  parts  of  England.* 

On  account  of  their  doctrinal  differences,  there  was 
practically  no  communication  between  the  Particular 
and  the  General  Baptists.  Their  organization  and  cus- 
toms were,  however,  very  similar,  although  the  Gen- 
eral Baptists  seem  to  have  retained  more  of  the 
distinctive  customs  of  the  Continental  Anabaptists. 
The  congregations  of  each  group  were  individually 
independent  in  government,  but  gave  one  another  ad- 
vice and  encouragement  by  means  of  messengers,  and 
held  general  meetings  at  stated  intervals  to  discuss 

*  The  existing  records  of  the  early  London  churches  are  to  be  found 
in  vol.  II,  Transactions  of  the  Congregational  Society,  London. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCFIY  MEN  5 

matters  of  common  interest."  The  organization  of  the 
churches  was  thoroughly  democratic.  All  male  mem- 
bers, and  in  the  case  of  a  large  number  of  churches, 
female  members  also,  were  allowed  "  liberty  of  prophe- 
sying ",  that  is,  of  saying  during  the  services  whatever 
they  believed  themselves  inspired  of  God  to  say. 
Officers  were  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  entire  congre- 
gation. Any  member  might  be  chosen  as  deacon,  but 
only  those  who  were  thought  to  possess  special  gifts 
were  elected  to  eldership,  as  it  was  the  elders  who 
exercised  pastoral  duties.  The  belief  that  no  special 
education  was  necessary  as  a  preparation  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry  led  to  actual  denunciation  of  higher 
education  by  some  preachers,  and  gave  rise  to  the  opin- 
ion that  the  Baptists  were  opposed  to  learning  and  to 
the  universities.*  Moreover,  the  fact  that  the  men  who 
preached  on  Sundays  frequently  worked  the  rest  of 
the  week  as  saddlers,  glovers,  felt-makers,  and  the  like, 
brought  upon  them  the  scorn  of  the  Church  of  England 
clergy  and  the  Presbyterians.'    Their  unpopularity  on 

'  The  Free  Will  Baptists  and  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists  later  developed 
separate  organizations,  but  their  numbers  were  inconsiderable.  An 
apostle  of  church  unity  wrote  in  1653:  "The  baptized  Churches  are 
subdivided  into  three  parts,  one  Church  is  for  free  will,  a  second  for  uni- 
versal Redemption,  a  third  count  themselves  more  Orthodox  in  Doctrine, 
as  the  Church  of  England.  Neither  of  these  three  baptized  Churches  doe 
communicate  one  with  another."  Erbery,  The  Sword  Doubled  (Thoma- 
son). 

'  For  Baptist  views  on  education,  see  below,  pp.  36-37.  For  the  position 
of  women  in  the  churches,  see  Register  Book  of  the  Lothbury  Church 
(Rawlinson  MSS.,  D  828),  fol.  28;  Barclay,  op.  cit.,  156;  Edwards, 
Gangraena,  1646,  29.  The  preaching  of  women  gave  rise  to  much  talk 
and  no  little  ridicule.     See  Masson,  Milton,  III,  149,  189. 

'  Edwards,  Gangraena,  Z3  ff-  An  attack  on  the  Baptists  published  in 
164s  has  the  following:  "  Q.  '  Who  are  your  preachers  and  what  are 
they?'  A.  'There  are  divers:  viz.,  Mr.  Patience,  an  honest  Glover,  Mr. 
Griffin,  a  reverend  Taylor,  Mr.  Knowles,  a  learned  Scholler,  Mr.  Spilsby, 
a  renowned  cobler,  Mr.  Barber,  a  Button  maker,  and  divers  others  '." 
The  Anabaptists  Catechisme  (Thomason). 


6  BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

this  score,  as  well  as  on  account  of  their  separatism, 
was  shared  by  the  Independents,  but  their  insistence  on 
adult  baptism,  and  the  survival  of  extravagant  tales 
about  the  Continental  Anabaptists,  laid  them  open  to 
especial  bitterness  of  attack,  and  there  is  no  better 
index  of  the  spread  of  Baptist  doctrines  than  the  num- 
ber and  violence  of  the  publications  which  not  only  op- 
posed Baptist  tenets,  but,  reviving  the  stories  of 
Miinster,  represented  Baptists  as  enemies  of  society 
and  of  the  state.* 

The  churches  responded  to  the  reproaches  cast  upon 
them  by  the  publication  of  confessions  of  their  faith. 
The  earliest  of  these  had  been  put  forth  by  the  General 
Baptists  in  the  year  that  they  left  Amsterdam.  It  de- 
clared the  church  of  Christ  to  be  the  company  of  the 
faithful,  set  apart  by  baptism,  and  organized  in  small 
independent  congregations.  It  stated  that  magistracy 
was  an  ordinance  of  God,  "  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to 
speak  evil  of  them  that  are  in  dignity,  and  to  despise 
government ",  that  church  members  might  be  magis- 
trates, and  that  oaths  in  a  just  cause  might  be  lawfully 
taken.'  In  1644  the  seven  Particular  Baptist  churches 
in  London  issued  a  confession.  In  its  doctrinal  portion 
it  showed  Calvinistic  views  as  opposed  to  the  Arminian- 
ism  of  the  General  Baptist  confession,  but  like  the  lat- 
ter it  asserted  that  the  company  of  baptized  believers 
was  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth,  that  magistracy  was  an 

*  "  I  am  afraid  that  Anabaptisme  is  very  rife  in  England,  though  not 
perhaps  in  one  entire  body,  but  scattered  .  .  .  here  one  tenet  .  .  .  and 
there  another:  yet  not  so  scattered  but  they  meet  in  one  head,  which  is  the 
hatred  of  all  rule."  A  Short  History  of  the  Anabal'tists  of  High  and 
Low  Germany,  1642  (Thomason).  Cf.  A  Warning  for  England  .  .  .  in 
the  famous  History  of  the  frantick  Anabaptists,  1642;  Harleian  Miscel- 
lany. VII,  382:  Featley,  The  Dippers  Dipt,  1645;  Edwards,  Gangraena; 
Baillie,  Anabaptism,   1646. 

'  Confessions  of  Faith  (Hansard  Knollys  Soc),  3  ff. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN  7 

ordinance  of  God,  and  that  it  was  lawful  for  church 
members  to  hold  civil  office  and  to  take  an  oath.  In 
addition  it  maintained  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  magis- 
trate to  allow  liberty  of  conscience,  that  obedience  to 
the  magistrate  was  not  to  extend  to  anything  contrary 
to  conscience,  but  that  punishment  for  disobedience  in 
such  a  case  must  patiently  be  endured,  and  that  min- 
isters ought  not  to  preach  for  hire,  but  should  be  sup- 
ported by  the  free  offerings  of  their  congregations.'" 

Here  we  find  the  ideas  which  were  to  bring  the  Bap- 
tists into  the  realm  of  politics.  The  questions  of  adult 
baptism  and  lay  preaching  kept  them  engaged  in  con- 
stant disputes  with  theologians  outside  their  ranks ; 
differences  of  opinion  as  to  close  communion,  laying-on 
of  hands,  and  the  plan  of  salvation,  kept  up  dissensions 
within ;  but  it  was  their  attitude  toward  the  relations 
of  church  and  state  which  led  them  to  join  with  the 
Independents  to  oppose  tithes  and  a  state-controlled 
ministry,  and  to  go  beyond  them  in  championship  of 
liberty  of  conscience. 

In  the  confession  of  faith  of  the  church  of  John 
Smith,  the  founder  of  the  first  English  congregation, 
occur  the  words :  "  The  magistrate  is  not  to  meddle 
with  religion,  or  matters  of  conscience,  to  force  and 
compel  men  to  this  or  that  form  of  religion,  for  Christ 
only  is  the  king  and  law  giver  of  the  church  and  con- 
science." "  This  enunciation  of  the  principle  of  toler- 
ation does  not  appear  in  the  confession  of  1611, 
published  after  Smith's  death.  His  flock,  however, 
maintained  the  principle  at  length  in  161 5,  in  a  protest 
to  James  I  against  the  prosecution  of  those  who  were 
unwilling  to  conform  to  the  worship  of  the  Church  of 

i«  Ibid.,  1 1  ff. 

"  Barclay,  op.  cit.,  ch.  vi,  appendix,  xiii. 


8         BAPTISTS  AXD  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Eng-land,  and  again  in  a  petition  to  the  same  purport 
in  1620."  These,  with  similar  pleas  by  individuals  be- 
longing to  their  communion,  make  valid  the  Baptist 
claim  to  stand  among  the  earliest  champions  of  toler- 
ation in  England." 

It  is  true  that  the  toleration  advocated  by  a  large 
number  of  Baptists  was  distinctly  a  limited  one.  In  a 
declaration  published  in  1659,  signed  for  the  most  part 
by  Particular  Baptists,  non-Christian  faiths  and  popery 
were  expressly  excluded."  Still,  protests  against  this 
limitation  were  promptly  published  by  two  small  bodies 
of  Baptists."    The  General  Baptists,  too.  in  a  declar- 

^  Persecution  for  religion  judged  and  condemned,  in  Tracts  on  Lib- 
erty of  Conscience  (Hanserd  Knollys  Soc),  83;  A  Most  humble  sup(>lica- 
tion,  ibid.,   183. 

"Leonard  Busher,  Religion's  peace,  1614,  ibid.,  i;  Roger  Williams, 
The  Bloudy  Tencnt  of  persecution,  1644:  Samuel  Richardson.  The 
Necessity  of  Toleration,  1647.  For  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  championing  of  tolerance  by  English  Baptists  see  Ernst 
Troeltsch,  "  Die  Bedeutung  des  Protestantismus  fiir  die  Entstehung  der 
modernen  Welt  ",  in  Historische  Zeitschrift,  1906,  40,  57. 

"^  Declaration  of  several  of  the  People  called  Anabaptists,  in  and 
about  the  Cily  of  London   (Guildhall  Library). 

1*  "  We  doe  declare,  That  we  would  have  a  full  and  equall  Liberty  to 
be  granted  (and  that  as  the  Scope  of  the  Gospel)  to  all  Persons  whatso- 
ever, without  Exception  of  one  or  other,  in  the  matters  of  there  Con- 
science in  the  worshiping  of  God.  For  why  should  we  not  give  unto 
another,  that  we  would  (in  this  case)  injoy  our  selves,  or  who  is  he 
that  will  Judge  another  mans  conscience;  to  his  own  Master,  let  him 
stand  or  fall:  if  any  corrupt,  or  unsound  Doctrine,  come  into  the  Church, 
there  is  the  law  of  Christ  to  deale  with  them  by.  But  what  have  the 
members  thereof  to  do  to  judge  them  that  are  without?  surely  when 
peace  will  be  upon  the  Earth,  every  man  shall  serve  his  God,  and  the 
Saints  shall  walk  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  their  God,  therefore  our 
desire  is,  that  God  may  have  that  glorious  prerogative  of  Judging  mens 
hearts,  according  to  the  Gospel  of  his  Son."  A  Declaration  of  Scleral 
Baptised  Believers,  ■walking  in  all  the  Foundation  Principles  of  the  Doc- 
trine of  Christ,  mentioned  in  Heb.  6,  I,  2,  December  29,  1659.  A  copy 
is  in  the  library  of  the  Congregational  Union,  London.  There  are 
fourteen  signatures.  The  other  protest  came  from  a  congregation  of 
Free  Will  Baptists,  who  were  led  by  one  Henry  Adis,  Declaration  of  a 
small  Society  of  Baptised  Believers,  undergoing  the  name  of  Free- 
IVillers.     January  12,  1660  (British  Museum). 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN  g 

ation  issued  in  1660,  and  in  their  confession  of  faith  of 
the  same  year,  maintain  that  Hberty  of  conscience  ought 
to  be  allowed  to  all  men."  Again,  Baptist  toleration, 
it  must  be  admitted,  was  too  often  theoretical  rather 
than  practical.  There  is  no  indication  that  when  Bap- 
tists were  in  positions  of  power  they  were  inclined  to 
grant  to  others  that  liberty  of  conscience  which  they  so 
earnestly  advocated.  To  be  sure,  it  is  chiefly  from  con- 
ditions in  Ireland  that  we  have  to  draw  our  conclusions 
upon  this  point,  but  when  all  allowances  are  made,  it  is 
hard  to  believe  that,  in  practice,  the  majority  of  Bap- 
tists were  in  advance  of  their  generation  in  tolerance." 
But  however  they  might  differ  as  to  its  limitations, 
or  be  found  wanting  in  its  practice,  the  Baptists  of 
England  were  all  advocates  of  liberty  of  conscience. 
Consequently,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  Wars  they 
were  on  the  side  of  Parliament,  regarding  its  war  as  a 
holy  one.  And  although  there  were  among  them  some 
who  adhered  to  the  belief  of  their  brethren  on  the  Con- 
tinent that  Christians  should  not  meddle  with  the 
sword,  they  joined  the  army  in  great  numbers.  There, 
preaching  and  praying  as  well  as  fighting,  they  carried 
on  a  propaganda  which  daily  swelled  the  Baptist  ranks." 
The  spread  of  their  faith,  in  England  as  on  the  Conti- 
nent, had  been  largely  among  humbler  folk,  and  in  the 

"  Barclay,  ch.  x,  appendix;  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  19. 

"  See  below,  137  ff. 

"  It  was  among  the  General  Baptists  that  doubts  arose  most  frequently 
as  to  the  lawfulness  of  warfare  for  Christians.  At  a  quarterly  meeting  in 
1657  it  was  decided:  "  i.  In  answer  to  the  quiries  about  fighting  we  say 
that  in  some  cases  it  may  be  Lawfull,  but  as  the  affaires  of  the  nation  now 
standeth  and  is  like  to  continue  till  the  appearing  of  the  Lord  Jesus  we 
account  it  exceeding  dangerous.  ...  2.  And  for  officers  of  Churches 
to  list  themselves  either  as  private  souldiers  or  comission  officers  that  is 
altogether  unlawfull."  Register  book  of  Speldhurst  church  (Add.  MSS., 
36,709),  fol.   131. 


10        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

early  days  of  the  wars  most  of  them  served  as  private 
soldiers."  But  promotion  was  rapid,  the  tradesman 
who  had  enlisted  as  a  trooper  at  the  beginning  of  the 
struggle  was  sometimes  a  colonel,  or  even  a  general 
officer,  at  its  close,  and  the  churches  of  humble  artisans 
and  small  mechanics  found  themselves  with  representa- 
tives in  the  high  places  of  the  nation.""*  During  the 
same  period.  Baptist  ideas  began  to  take'  root  among 
people  of  higher  station,  until  in  the  latter  days  of  the 
Long  Parliament  there  were  to  be  found  Baptists 
among  the  most  influential  men  as  well  as  the  most 
substantial  citizens  of  the  state.  An  attempt  to  give 
an  exhaustive  list  would  occupy  too  much  space,  but 
the  mention  of  a  few  names  will  make  it  clear  that  the 
Baptist  element  was  one  by  no  means  to  be  despised. 

The  most  eminent  Baptist  in  the  eyes  of  men  of  that 
generation  was  Henry  Lawrence,  later  president  of  the 
Council  of  State  of  the  Protectorate.  The  legal  pro- 
fession was  represented  by  William  Steele,  Recorder  of 
London,  and  later  Chancellor  of  Ireland.  Among 
scholars  were  to  be  reckoned  John  Tombes,  an  Oxford 
man,  eminent  as  a  theologian,  William  Dell,  master  of 
Caius  College,  Cambridge,  Hanserd  Knollys,  Benjamin 
Cox,  and  Francis  Cornwall.  William  Kiffin  and  Sam- 
uel Moyer  had  unusual  reputations  as    financiers,  and 

"  Richard  Deane,  in  J 649,  said  he  knew  of  but  two  Baptists  in  com- 
mands before  1648.  Letter  to  Barlow,  Crosby,  English  Baptists,  II, 
2  ff.  A  Baptist  minister,  writing  in  1659,  said  he  understood  that  at  the 
time  of  the  king's  execution  there  were  none  above  the  rank  of  captain, 
and  only  six  captains.  Allen  to  Baxter,  May  30,  1659,  Baxter  Corre- 
spondence, IV,   187  ff. 

2"  Firth,  Cromwell's  Army,  40  ff.,  49  iif.  For  the  way  that  the  churches 
themselves  sometimes  formed  troops,  see  the  cases  of  Walter  Cradock  and 
Vavasor  Powell,  ibid.,  328,  note.  For  defense  of  the  army  preachers  by 
a  Baptist  officer,  see  Edmund  Chillenden,  Preaching  without  Ordination 
.  .  .  proving  the  lawfulness  of  alt  Persons  to  preach,  1647   (Thomason). 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        ii 

Samuel  Richardson  and  Praise-God  Barbone  were 
substantial  merchants.  Henry  Hills  and  Francis  Smith 
were  successful  printers  and  publishers.  The  Bap- 
tists in  the  fleet  were  exceedingly  numerous,  the  best- 
known  among  them  being  Vice-admiral  Lawson.^  In 
the  army  the  most  prominent  Baptists  were  Colonels 
Robert  Bennet,  Richard  Overton,  Charles  Howard, 
Robert  Lilburne,  John  Hutchinson,  Richard  Deane, 
Henry  Danvers,  and  John  Wigan.  A  number  of  those 
who  were  Agitators,  or  took  part  in  the  conferences  on 
the  Agreement  of  the  People  in  1647  and  1648,  were 
Baptists.  They  were  Edmund  Chillenden,  William 
Allen,  Daniel  Axtell,  John  Barkstead,  Alexander  Bray- 
field,  Robert  Gladman,  John  Okey,  William  Packer, 
Thomas  Saunders,  and  Hierome  Sankey."''  Accus- 
tomed in  their  churches  to  an  atmosphere  of  democracy 
and  of  free  discussion,  they  lent  themselves  with  ease 
to  the  ideas,  so  freely  expressed  in  those  conferences, 
which  were  to  produce  the  party  known  as  the  Level- 
lers. On  the  other  hand,  the  terminology  employed  by 
their  sect,  with  its  faith  in  Christ  as  head  and  lawgiver, 
and  their  belief  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  was  at  hand, 
crept  into  the  language  of  the  soldiers'  agreements, 
such  as  that  of  Manchester,  August  i,  1650,  which  pro- 


^A  General  Baptist  assembly  held  in  London  in  1654  discussed  the 
advisability  of  sending  Baptist  chaplains  to  the  fleet.  Letter  of  John 
Abell,  Sept.  3,   1654.     Thurloe,  State  Papers,  II,   582. 

^'■^  For  examples  of  the  different  ways  in  which  these  men  can  be  identi- 
fied as  Baptists,  see  Dr.  Whitley's  list  of  General  Baptist  leaders, 
Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly,  I,  xxxv  ff.  It  is  scarcely  safe,  however, 
to  use  the  signatures  to  the  Propositions  to  King  Charles  for  such  identi- 
fication. See  below,  ch.  V,  note  41.  It  used  to  be  the  fashion  to  claim 
Milton  as  a  Baptist,  but  see  Masson,  Milton,  VI,  838  ff.  John  Bunyan 
would  of  course  be  counted  the  most  eminent  to-day. 


12        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

claimed  unwillingness  to  accept  any  king  but  Jesus."^ 
Among  these  fighting  Baptists  and  their  Independent 
brethren,  whose  favorite  relaxation  in  camp  was  attend- 
ance at  a  prayer-meeting,  there  was  a  fertile  field  for 
the  development  of  new  religious  ideas.  And  here 
developed  the  other  party  we  have  set  out  to  consider — 
the  Fifth  Monarchy  men. 

In  these  army  circles,  the  idea  characterizing  all  the 
Evangelical  churches,  that  of  turning  to  the  Scriptures 
for  justification  of  every  act,  was  naturally  very  much 
at  the  fore,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  the  most  fruitful 
sources  for  the  preachers  who  sought  the  explanation 
of  current  events  should  be  those  most  obscure  and 
mystical  books,  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  and  the  Revel- 
ation of  John.  There  were  certain  portions  of  the 
book  of  Daniel  which  in  the  seventeenth  century  gave 
rise  to  little  controversy,  because  they  were  supposed  to 
be  so  well  understood.  These  were  Nebuchadnezzar's 
vision  of  the  image,  and  Daniel's  vision  of  the  four 
beasts  which  succeeded  one  another.  The  interpreta- 
tion of  these  visions  as  representing  four  kingdoms, 
which  were  to  follow  one  another  on  earth,  before  the 
coming  of  the  Ancient  of  Days  and  the  establishment 
of  an  everlasting  kingdom  ruled  by  the  saints,  had,  in 
accordance  with  the  accepted  ideas  of  the  time,  been 
justified  in  the  successive  establishment  of  the  Assyrian, 
Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman  empires.''*    The  events  of 

2^  "  We  have  not  only  proclaimed  Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of  Saints,  to 
be  our  King  by  profession,  hut  desire  to  submit  to  him  upon  his  own  terms, 
and  admit  him  to  the  exercise  of  his  Royal  Authority  in  our  hearts." 
Manchester  Declaration,  cited  by  Feake,  Beam  of  Light,  1659.  The 
agreements  of  Triploe  Heath  and  Windsor  were  also  cited  by  Fifth 
Monarchy  men. 

^  Hearne,  in  his  Ductor  Ilistoricus,  published  in  1705,  says  that  objec- 
tions to  this  system  of  chronology  have  been  made,  but  that  he  considers 
them  insufficient     2d  ed.,  I,  131,  292. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        13 

the  Thirty  Years'  War  gave  currency  to  the  idea  that 
the  last  days  of  the  Roman  monarchy  were  at  hand, 
and  that  the  time  was  drawing  near  when  the  Fifth 
Monarchy,  with  Christ  at  its  head,  would  after  much 
war  and  tumult  be  established  upon  earth.  And  while 
England  was  being  rent  with  civil  wars,  it  is  not 
strange  that  men  began  to  feel  that  perhaps  these  were 
the  wars  of  the  latter  days,  or  that  the  soldier  was  in- 
spired to  better  service  by  the  great  thought  that  the 
promise  might  be  fulfilled  in  his  lifetime,  and  that  he 
was  one  of  the  saints  who  were  to  bring  in  the  new 
order. 

It  is  difficult  in  these  days  to  follow  with  patience, 
or  even  with  complete  seriousness,  all  the  ramifications 
of  Fifth  Monarchy  speculation,  but  reduced  to  its 
fundamentals,  surely  nothing  could  be  finer  than  the 
simple  faith  and  hope  upon  which  it  was  founded. 
Professor  Firth,  in  his  life  of  Thomas  Harrison,  applies 
to  him  the  well-known  lines  of  Blake : 

Bring  me  my  Bow   of  burning  gold : 
Bring  me  my  Arrows  of  desire : 
Bring  me  my  Spear:    O   clouds  unfold; 
Bring  me  my  Qiariot  of  fire ! 

I  will  not  cease  from  mental  Fight, 
Nor  shall  my  Sword  sleep  in  my  hand; 
Till  I  have  built  Jerusalem, 
In  England's  green  and  pleasant  land. 

Here  speaks  the  true  spirit  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
man,  and  the  realization  of  this  lends  a  dignity  to  even 
the  wildest  projects  of  these  enthusiasts. 

In  this  spirit,  indeed,  the  Parliamentary  armies  had 
fought  the  Civil  Wars.  The  Fifth  Monarchy  men  kept 
it  alive  when  for  others  it  had  lost  its  potency.    Any  one 


14        BAPTISTS  AXD  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

who  follows  the  course  of  events  in  England  between 
1642  and  1650  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  preva- 
lence, among  the  leaders  of  the  forces  as  well  as  among 
the  rank  and  file,  of  the  idea  that  they  were  fighting 
the  battles  of  Christ,  and  preparing  for  his  kingdom. 
Soldiers  and  preachers  alike  considered  the  Parlia- 
mentary victories  as  victories  of  Armageddon." 

From  the  discussions  on  the  Agreement  of  the  People 
an  excellent  idea  can  be  gained  of  the  mingling  of  mil- 
lenary ideas  with  notions  of  government,  and  of  the 
part  of  the  saints  in  the  warfare  of  Christ.  In  referring 
to  the  claim  of  the  king  to  authority  in  religious  mat- 
ters Lieutenant-colonel  GofiFe  said :  '*  Certainly,  this  is 
a  mister}-  of  iniquity.  Now  Jesus  Christ  his  worke  in 
the  last  dayes  is  to  destroy  this  mistery  of  iniquity ;  and 
because  itt  is  so  intenvoven  and  intwisted  in  the  inter- 
est of  States,  certainly  in  that  overthrow  .  .  .  there 
must  bee  great  alterations  of  states.  Now  the  worde 
doth  hold  out  in  the  Revelation,  that  in  this  worke  of 
Jesus  Christ  hee  shall  have  a  companie  of  Saints  to  fol- 
low him,  such  as  are  chosen,  and  called,  and  faithfull. 
Xow  itt  is  a  scruple  amonge  the  saints,  how  farre  they 
should  use  the  sworde.  yett  God  hath  made  use  of  them 
in  that  worke.  ^lany  of  them  have  bin  employed  these 
five  or  six  yeares."  ^  A  year  later,  when  the  Agree- 
ment of  the  People  was  again  under  discussion,  Colonel 
Thomas  Harrison  said :  "  The  Worde  of  God  doth  take 
notice,  that  the  powers  of  this  world  shall  bee  given 

**  Barclay,  cp,  cit.,  186;  Christ's  coming  Opened  in  a  Sermon  before  the 
Honourable  House  of  Commons  .  .  .  May  17,  1648,  by  William  Bridge 
(Prince  collection.  Boston  Public  Library);  The  Vengeance  of  the 
Temple  Discozered  in  a  sermon  preached  before  .  .  .  the  Lord  Mayor 
.  .  .  May  17,  1648  .  .  .  by  IVilliam  Strong. 

^Clarke  Papers  (Camden  Soc),  I,  282-283. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        15 

into  the  hands  of  the  Lord  and  his  Saints ;  that  this  is  the 
day,  God's  owne  day,  wherein  hee  is  coming  forth  in 
glory  in  the  world,  and  hee  doth  putt  forth  himself 
very  much  by  his  people,  and  hee  sayes  in  that  day 
wherein  hee  will  thresh  the  Mountaines  hee  will  make 
use  of  Jacob  as  that  threshing  instrument  .  .  .  and  he 
will  worke  on  us  soe  farre  that  we  are  [to  be]  made 
able  in  wisedome  and  power  to  carry  through  thinges  in 
a  way  extraordinarie,  that  the  workes  of  men  shall  bee 
answerable  to  his  workes."  " 

The  convictions  of  the  men  of  the  sword  were 
strengthened  by  the  speculations  of  divines.  In  1642 
Henry  Archer  had  published  a  pamphlet  under  the  title 
of  The  Personal  Reign  of  Christ  upon  Earth,  in  which 
he  analyzed  in  detail  the  coming  kingdom.  It  was  to  be 
preceded  by  a  general  darkness,  and  troubles  among 
Gentiles  and  Jews  ;  the  Jews  would  finally  be  converted, 
and  would  then  suffer  for  forty-five  years  from  the 
Mahometans,  heathen,  and  Papists.  Then  Christ  would 
come,  uplift  the  saints,  and  chastise  the  wicked.  He 
would  thereupon  withdraw,  and  the  saints  would  reign 
until  his  final  coming,  a  thousand  years  later.  A  care- 
ful computation,  and  comparison  of  Daniel  with  Revel- 
ation, made  Archer  fix  the  date  for  the  conversion  of 
the  Jews  at  either  1650  or  1656,  and  for  the  coming  of 
Christ  at  about  1700.^  John  Owen,  preaching  before 
the  House  of  Commons  in  1649,  showed  that  the  prep- 
aration for  the  kingdom  of  Christ  was  to  be  by  the 
destruction  of  monarchy,  and  pointed  out  that  a  general 

^  Id.,  II,  185.  Goffe  was  never  identified  with  the  Fifth  Monarchy- 
party,  but  Harrison  was  to  be  its  most  distinguished  member. 

**  Thomason.  In  1650  appeared  an  elaborate  confutation:  The  Revel- 
ation Unrevealed.  A  copy  is  in  the  Prince  collection,  Boston  Public 
Library. 


i6        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

attack  on  monarchical  power  was  going  on/"  Preaching 
before  the  same  body  again,  three  years  later,  on  the 
seventh  chapter  of  Daniel,  he  declared  once  more  that 
the  wars  of  the  day  were  those  which  were  to  prepare 
for  the  kingdom.  He  had  come  to  believe,  however, 
that  it  was  still  far  off,  since  before  it  came  the  Turk 
and  the  Pope  must  be  overthrown  and  the  Jews  brought 
back  to  their  own.'°  Thomas  Goodwin  also  drew  a 
picture  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy,  representing  it  as  an 
earthly  kingdom,  in  which  the  saints  were  to  have  a 
part,  and  indicating  that  it  was  close  at  hand.*^ 

From  across  the  Atlantic  came  testimony  of  the  same 
sort.  John  Eliot,  the  apostle  to  the  Indians  of  New 
England,  wrote  of  his  faith  that  the  work  of  Qirist  in 
the  destruction  of  the  Beast  was  well  under  way :  "  The 
faithful  Brethren  in  Scotland  gave  the  first  blow  at  the 
dirty  toes,  and  feet  of  this  Image  ;  with  whom  the  faith- 
ful brethren  in  England,  presently  concurred.  But  the 
Iron  of  the  Civil  State,  stuck  so  fast  to  the  miry  clay, 
that  according  to  the  Word  of  Christ,  they  are  (beyond 
all  the  thoughts  of  men)  both  fallen  together  .  .  .  and 
all  his  faithful  Word  shall  be  accomplished  .  .  . 
Christ  is  the  only  right  Heir  of  the  Crown  of  England 

^ "  Are  not  all  the  Controversies,  or  the  most  of  them,  that  at  this 
day  are  disputed  in  Letters  of  Blood  among  the  Nations,  somewhat  of  a 
distinct  Constitution  from  those  formerly  under  debate?  ...  Is  not  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  in  all  this?  Are  not  the  shakings  of  the  Heavens  of 
the  Nations  from  him?  ...  Is  it  not  .  .  .  that  he  may  revenge  their 
opposition  to  the  Kingdom  of  his  dear  Son?  .  .  .  That  so  the  Kingdoms 
of  the  Earth,  may  become  the  Kingdoms  of  our  Lord  Jesus."  Sermon 
preached  April    19,   1649;   copy  in  the  New  York  Public  Library. 

*•  Sermon  .  .  .  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  Power  of 
the  Civil  Magistrate,  preached  Oct.  13,  1652;  copy  in  New  York  Public 
Library. 

»i  This,  and  two  other  sermons,  were  published  later  in  the  interests  of 
the  Fifth  Monarchy  party:  A  Sermon  on  the  Fifth  Monarchy,  1654;  The 
World  to  Come,  or  the  Kingdome  of  Christ  Asserted,  1655.  Both  in 
Thomason. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        17 

.  .  .  and  he  is  now  come  to  take  possession  of  his 
Kingdom,  making  England  first  in  that  blessed  work  of 
setting  up  the  Kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Stating 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  men  to  seek  out  the  form  of 
government  prescribed  by  the  Scriptures,  Eliot  exhorted 
those  who  had  been  fighting  the  Lord's  battles  "  That 
you  would  now  set  the  Crown  of  England  upon  the  head 
of  Christ,  whose  only  true  inheritance  it  is,  by  the  gift  of 
his  Father.  Let  him  be  your  Judge,  let  him  be  your 
Law-Giver,  let  him  be  your  King."  As  the  form  of 
government  to  be  set  up,  Eliot  suggested  one  he  had 
formulated  for  his  Indians.*" 

This  was  not  the  first  crystallization  of  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  idea  into  a  serious  political  proposition.  In 
February,  1649,  "  many  Christian  people  dispersed 
abroad  throughout  the  county  of  Norfolk,  and  City  of 
Norwich  ",  presented  a  petition  to  the  Council  of  Of- 
ficers, proposing  the  establishment  of  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy. Starting  with  the  queries,  "  Whether  there  is 
not  a  Kingdom  and  Dominion  of  the  Church  or  of 
Christ  and  the  Saints,  to  be  expected  upon  Earth  ?  "  and 
"  Whether  this  Kingdom  ...  be  not  external  and  visi- 
ble in  the  world,  yea,  extend  not  to  all  persons  and 
things  universally?  "  the  authors  of  the  pamphlet  con- 
clude in  the  affirmative.  This  kingdom,  they  assert,  is 
to  be  administered  "  by  such  Laws  and  Officers  as 
Jesus  Christ  our  Mediator  hath  appointed  in  his  King- 
dom ",  will  "  put  down  all  worldly  Rule  and  Authority 

*2  Mass.  Hist.  Soc,  Collections,  3d  sen,  IX,  127-164.  This  treatise 
was  ordered  suppressed  by  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  in  1661. 
Eliot  "  recanted  ",  saying  he  had  sent  it  over  to  England  "  about  nine 
or  ten  years  since  ".  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  there  was  any 
connection  between  the  ideas  of  Eliot  and  those  of  William  Aspinwall, 
who  after  living  in  New  England  returned  to  England,  and  wrote 
copiously  in  behalf  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy. 
3 


i8       BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

(so  far  as  relates  to  the  worldly  constitution  thereof) 
though  in  the  hands  of  Christians  ",  and  is  to  be  ex- 
pected "  about  this  time  we  live  in  ".  It  is  not  to  be 
established  by  "  humane  Power  and  Authority  ",  but  by 
the  gathering,  through  the  spirit  of  Christ,  of  a  people 
organized  in  churches,  who,  when  they  shall  have  at- 
tained to  sufficient  numbers,  "  shall  rule  the  world  by 
General  Assemblies  or  Church-Parliaments,  of  such 
Officers  of  Christ  and  Representatives  of  the  Churches 
as  they  shall  chuse  and  delegate,  which  they  shall  do  till 
Christ  come  in  Person  ".  The  duty  of  the  saints  is 
therefore  to  organize  in  churches,  and  "  for  the  present 
to  lay  aside  all  differences  and  divisions  amongst  them- 
selves, and  combine  together  against  the  Antichristian 
powers  of  the  world  .  .  .  whom  they  may  expect  to 
combine  against  them  universally  (Rev.  xvii,  13,  14)  ". 
The  petitioners  propose  that  the  government  encourage 
the  formation  of  such  churches,  and  persuade  Inde- 
pendents and  Presbyterians  that  their  interests  in  the 
movement  are  identical.  To  this  end  it  is  urged  that 
only  godly  preachers  be  sent  out,  and  that  the  churches 
be  allowed  to  elect  representatives  to  the  proposed 
church  parliaments,  which  will  "  determine  all  things 
by  the  Word,  as  that  Law  that  God  will  exalt  alone, 
and  make  honorable  ".^ 

This  petition,  to  which  it  is  to  be  feared  the  Council 
of  Officers  did  not  give  very  serious  consideration,  is 
the  first  evidence  of  any  group  of  people  making  an 
organized  effort  to  establish  the  Fifth  Monarchy  as  the 
government  of  England ;  with  it  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
party  emerges  into  the  light.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
the  petition  came  from  Norwich  and  its  vicinity.  There 

*3  Certain  Queries  Humbly  presented  by  way  of  Petition  .  .  .  to  the 
Lord  General  and  Council  of  War,  1649  (Thomason). 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCFIY  MEN        19 

are  no  signatures,  and  there  is  no  way  of  determining 
how  wide  a  movement  it  represented.  Norfolk  was, 
throughout  the  history  of  the  movement,  the  chief 
stronghold  of  the  party  outside  of  London,  but  only 
scattered  records  of  its  activities  there  have  come  down 
to  us. 

The  first  trace  of  an  organization  in  London  dates 
from  the  period  directly  after  the  battle  of  Worcester. 
At  that  time,  a  gathering  of  "  divers  officers  and  Mem- 
bers of  several  Congregations,  that  had  not  succumbed 
to  the  temptations  of  the  day  ",  decided  to  endeavor  to 
stir  up  Cromwell  and  his  officers  to  hasten  on  the 
Lord's  cause,  and  "  to  quicken  the  Parliament  to  some 
good  work  ".  These  men  were  Baptists  and  Independ- 
ents. Although  Cromwell  at  first  listened  with  interest 
to  their  representations,  they  soon  observed  that  he  was 
taking  no  steps  to  put  into  practice  the  suggestions  they 
made.  They  accordingly  decided  that  applications  to 
the  government  should  cease,  and  dependence  be  had 
upon  the  Lord  alone.  Therefore,  in  the  latter  part  of 
December,  165 1,  a  new  series  of  meetings  was  inaugu- 
rated, at  the  church  of  Allhallows  the  Great,  in  Thames 
Street.  Here  "  divers  Officers  and  Members  of 
Churches,  among  whom  some  were  Souldiers  ",  agreed 
to  pray  for  the  speedy  exalting  of  Christ's  kingdom,  the 
removal  of  unfit  magistrates  and  ministers,  the  ending 
of  divisions  among  the  Lord's  people,  the  stirring  up  of 
Parliament,  army,  and  people  to  fulfill  their  promises, 
and  the  prevention,  in  the  coming  negotiations  with  the 
Dutch,  of  any  step  "  prejudicial  to  Christ's  cause,  and 
that  of  his  kingdom  ".^*    The  new  movement  was  at 

*»  Feake,  Beam  of  Light.  Although  this  account  was  not  published 
until  1659,  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  the  general  accuracy  of  its 
statements  concerning  these  early  meetings.     The  negotiations  with  the 


20        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

once  regarded  with  suspicion  in  government,  army,  and 
church  circles.  Some  of  the  leading  Independent  min- 
isters undertook  to  persuade  the  agitators  of  the  error 
of  their  ways,  and  certain  of  the  leaders  were  persuaded 
to  give  up  the  cause.^ 

The  defections  were  numerous  enough  seriously  to 
affect  the  movement  for  the  moment,  but  in  the  follow- 
ing spring  there  was  a  revival  of  interest.  To  this  there 
were  several  contributory  causes.  The  immediate  oc- 
casion was  the  outbreak  of  the  Dutch  war,  which  was 
regarded  as  the  spread  to  the  Continent  of  the  wars 
which  were  to  establish  Christ's  kingdom.^'  In  addition, 
conditions  at  home  were  such  as  would  engender  dis- 
content in  the  minds  of  millenarian  enthusiasts.  There 
was  danger,  in  the  eyes  of  advocates  of  the  principle 
"  No  king  but  Jesus  ",  in  the  wave  of  monarchical 
enthusiasm  which  had  followed  the  publication  of 
Hobbes's  Leviathan,  and  under  the  influence  of  which 
even  Cromwell  was  considering  the  desirability  of  a 
return  to  kingship.^'  The  Long  Parliament  was  increas- 
ing its  unpopularity  by  disregard  of  suggestions  for 
the  reform  of  the  law,  and  by  its  dilatory  policy  in  the 
matter  of  the  religious  settlement,  which,  it  was  whis- 
pered, might  take  the  form  of  an  intolerant,  tithe-sup- 
ported state  church.^  Well  might  a  new  politico-relig- 
ious party  seize  this  moment  to  enter  upon  a  fresh  stage 
of  activity. 

Dutch  were  those  concerning  the  navigation  act,  and  interference  with 
Dutch  trade,  which  were  begun  upon  the  arrival,  December  15,  of  the 
Dutch  ambassadors  Cats,  Schaef,  and  Van  de  Perre;  see  Gardiner,  Com.- 
fiionwealth  and  Protectorate,  II,   169. 

5'  Feake,  op.  cit.,  and  circular  letter  of  John  Owen,  Thomas  Goodwin, 
Philip  Nye,  and  Sidrach  Simpson  (Carte  MSS.,  81,  fol.  16.)  The  letter, 
written  in  1654,  refers  to  this  earlier  effort. 

*«  See  below,  p.  24. 

s'^  Gardiner,   op.   cit.,   II,   75   S. 

88  Ibid.,  82  ff.,  98  ff. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        21 

Six  congregations  were  invited  to  send  messengers 
to  the  new  series  of  meetings,  which  were  held  at  Lon- 
don House  and  at  some  place  in  Blackfriars.  The 
meetings  were  "  partly  to  hear  those  Scriptures  opened, 
which  concerned  the  blessed  Interest  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  partly  to  wrestle  with  the  Lord  again  (after  our 
former  neglect)  for  the  fulfilling  of  his  Word,  in  the 
Destruction  of  Babylon,  and  advancement  of  the  King- 
dom of  his  dear  Son  ".  It  was  left  to  the  messengers 
"  publicly  to  own  and  plead  the  cause  of  Christ's  king- 
dom ",  and  they  set  themselves  earnestly  to  the  task, 
but  with  varying  success,  according  to  the  historian  of 
the  early  stages  of  the  movement,  who  complained  that 
at  this  time  "  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  was  published 
with  a  great  mixture  of  human  frailty  "/° 

It  is  impossible  to  give  with  certainty  more  than  a 
few  names  of  those  who  were  associated  with  the 
movement  at  this  time.  Apparently  the  leading  spirit 
was  Christopher  Feake,  a  clergyman  who  in  1646  had 
begun  to  have  scruples  as  to  infant  baptism,  and  who 
was  in  1649  vicar  of  Christ  Church,  Newgate,  and  lec- 
turer at  St.  Anne's,  Blackfriars.  Our  knowledge  of 
these  early  meetings  is  drawn  from  an  account  by  him, 
published  some  years  later,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  to 
the  parish  of  St.  Anne's,  Blackfriars,  that  the  meetings, 
which  were  at  first  held  at  Allhallows  the  Great,  were 
transferred.  In  March,  1652,  there  arrived  from  Dub- 
lin an  able  and  zealous  young  preacher,  a  Cambridge 
man,  named  John  Rogers.  He  had  been  sent  to  Ireland 
by  the  Council  of  State  the  preceding  year,  and  had  been 
preaching  in  the  Dublin  cathedral,  but  left  on  account 
of  friction  with  the  Baptist  pastor  there.    On  his  return 

«•  Feake,    Beam    of    Light;    Erbery,    The    Bishop    of    London,    1653 
(Thomasoii). 


22        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

to  London  he  again  took  up  a  lectureship  which  he  held 
at  the  church  of  St.  Thomas  the  Apostle.  It  is  not 
known  when  he  embraced  Fifth  Monarchy  principles, 
but  he  soon  became  one  of  the  leading-  preachers  of  the 
party.  Next  in  importance  came  John  Simpson,  who 
held  a  lectureship  at  St.  Botolph's,  Aldgate.^  Other 
men  who  preached  Fifth  Monarchy  doctrines  later,  if 
not  at  this  time,  were  Vavasor  Powell,  one  of  the 
propagators  of  the  gospel  in  Wales,  and  John  Canne, 
chaplain  to  the  regiment  of  Robert  Overton.  To  these 
early  meetings  came  George  Cockayne,  who  was  after- 
wards one  of  Cromwell's  spies.  All  of  these  men  ex- 
cept Rogers  were  Baptists.  Of  the  soldiers  attached 
to  the  party  at  this  stage  we  are  sure  of  only  one  by 
name.  Major  Packer.  Of  those  who^  later  became 
prominent  several  had  taken  leading  parts  in  the  dis- 
cussions on  the  Agreement  of  the  People,  They  were 
Thomas  Harrison,  Nathaniel  Rich,  Hugh  Courtney, 
William  Allen,  Edmund  Chillenden,  John  Spittlehouse, 
Henry  Danvers,  Thomas  Buttivant,  and  Wentworth 
Day. 

A  sufficient  number  of  the  writings  of  these  enthus- 
iasts has  come  down  to  us  to  give  a  pretty  clear  idea  of 
the  doctrines  set  forth  at  their  meetings.  The  book  of 
Revelation,  and  the  prophets  Zechariah,  Ezekiel,  and 
Malachi,  furnished  them  with  a  large  number  of  their 
texts,  but  the  book  to  which  they  had  recourse  most 
frequently  was  Daniel,  and  the  favorite  chapter  of 
Daniel  was  the  seventh.  Although  the  interpretations 
given  by  different  preachers  to  the  vision  of  Daniel 

'"'  For  Feake,  Rogers,  and  Simpson,  see  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.  For  Rogers, 
see  also  Edward  Rogers,  Some  Account  of  the  Life  and  Oinnions  of  a 
Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  London,  1867,  and  for  Simpson,  see  Dodd, 
"  Troubles  in  a  City  Parish  under  the  Protectorate  ",  in  English  His- 
torical Review,  1895. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        23 

varied  in  detail,  their  general  features  were  the  same. 
The  four  beasts  were  the  four  great  empires  of  history ; 
the  little  horn  which  appeared  upon  the  head  of  the 
fourth  beast  and  made  war  upon  the  saints  was  ex- 
plained as  the  papacy,  William  the  Conqueror  and  the 
remnants  of  the  Norman  yoke,  the  Stuart  line,  or  simply 
Charles  I.  The  year  1648  had  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  dissolution  of  the  Roman  power,  and  the  High 
Court  of  Justice  in  that  year  was  the  throne  of  the 
Ancient  of  Days.  After  the  destruction  of  antichristian 
forms  in  England,  the  war  would  spread  to  the  Conti- 
nent, and  the  Pope  be  driven  from  his  throne.  Mean- 
while the  Jews  would  return  to  their  own  country  and 
make  war  on  the  Turk;  the  righteous  alone  would 
flourish,  finishing  the  destruction  of  the  fourth  mon- 
archy, and  Christ's  kingdom  would  be  established,  the 
saints  ruling  with  him."  The  exact  dates  of  these  hap- 
penings varied  with  the  individual  interpretations  of 
"  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time  ".  The  date 
of  1655  was  given  by  one  writer  for  the  return  of  the 
Jews  to  Palestine,  and  1660  for  the  final  destruction  of 
the  "  little  horn  ".  According  to  another,  1660  was  the 
year  when  the  Fifth  Monarchy  should  extend  to  Rome, 
and  in  1666  it  was  to  be  visible  over  the  whole  earth. 
It  was  to  be  inaugurated  "  gradually  and  mysteriously, 
yet  suddenly  ".■"  The  methods  of  computation  em- 
ployed are  perhaps  worthy  of  attention.  They  were 
summarized  by  an  unsympathetic  contemporary  as  fol- 
lows: 


"John  Canne,  A  Voice  from  the  Temple,  1653;  John  Rogers,  Sagrir, 
1653;  William  Aspinwall,  An  Explication  and  Application  of  the  Seventh 
Chapter  of  Daniel,  1654,  and  Thunders  from  Heaven,  1655.  All  in 
Thomason  collection. 

**  Canne,  Voice  from  the  Temple;  Rogers,  Sagrir. 


24        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Some  that  have  heard  that  the  end  of  Paganism  is  placed 
in  the  year  395  .  .  .  will  easily  be  induced  to  believe  that  the 
famous  number,  1260,  ought  to  be  added  to  it,  and  then  .  .  . 
165s  must  be  pointed  out  for  an  apocalyptical  epocha.  Others 
pitch  upon  the  year  1656,  because,  having  summed  up  the  lives 
of  the  patriarchs  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Genesis,  they  find  1656 
years  from  the  creation  to  the  flood,  and  thence  infer,  that  the 
coming  of  Christ  will  be  the  next  year,  because  it  must  be  as 
in  the  days  of  Noah.  To  325  (the  Council  of  Nice  was  in) 
add  1332,  that  is,  twice  666,  the  sum  will  be  1657.  Others  will 
wait  three  or  four  years  more,  hoping  that  the  1260  years  must 
be  reckoned  from  the  death  of  Theodosius.  .  .  .  Nor  need  we 
wonder,  if  we  find  some  confident  that  eleven  years  hence 
we  shall  see  the  fatal  change,  because  of  the  number  666/* 

There  were  also  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  exact 
part  the  Jews  were  to  play  in  setting  up  the  kingdom, 
but  it  was  to  be  an  important  one,  and  therefore  they 
were  to  be  favored,  and  admitted  to  England.  The 
war  with  the  Dutch  was  advocated,  for  it  was  by  their 
conquest  that  a  foothold  would  be  gained  for  the  cam- 
paign of  regeneration  on  the  Continent." 

**  Pell  to  Thurloe,  March,   1655,  Vaughan,  Protectorate,  I,   155. 

**  "  It  was  the  last  Monday  preached  publicly  before  a  great  congre- 
gation .  ,  .  that  if  they  now  made  peace  with  those  rogues  and  dogs 
the  Dutch  .  .  .  that  God's  vengeance  would  follow  upon  such  a 
heathenish  peace;  for  where  should  they  have  a  landing-place,  when  they 
went  to  do  the  great  work  of  the  Lord,  and  tear  the  whore  of  Babylon 
out  of  her  chair,  if  they  gave  back  by  making  a  peace  with  them,  a  people 
and  land,  which  the  Lord  had  as  good  as  given  wholly  up  into  their 
hands?  "  Intercepted  letter  from  London,  Oct.  20,  1653  (n.  s.), 
Thurloe,  I,  534.  See  also,  ibid.,  501.  "Thou  gavest  a  Cup  into  the 
hand  of  England,  and  we  drank  of  it.  Then  thou  carried'st  it  to  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  and  they  drank  of  it.  Now  thou  hast  carried  it  to  Holland, 
and  they  are  drinking  of  it.  Lord,  carry  it  also  to  France,  to  Spain, 
and  to  Rome."  "  I  will  never  believe  that  this  Navy  was  made  on 
purpose  for  the  breaking  of  our  Neighbours  in  pieces,  and  there  an  end. 
We  shall  at  last  joyn  together,  and  do  such  work  for  God  as  was  never 
done  in  the  world.  We  shall  carry  the  Gospel  with  our  Navy  up  and 
down  to  the  Gentiles,  and  afterward  we  shall  gather  home  the  Jews  out 
of  the  Isles  first;  for  those  are  them  shall  first  be  called,  and  the  Ships 
of  Tharsis  shall  do  it."  From  sermons  of  Feake  at  Blackfriars  and 
Christ  Church,  Aug.  11  and  Sept.  ii,  1653.  Roger  L'Estrange,  The 
Dissenters'  Sayings,  1681. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        25 

The  immediate  duty  of  the  saints  was  to  prepare  for 
the  kingdom,  by  making  the  existing  government  ac- 
cord as  closely  as  possible  with  the  rule  of  Christ.  To 
this  end,  none  but  godly  men  should  be  allowed  to  sit 
in  the  seats  of  the  mighty,  tithes  should  be  abolished, 
and  the  existing  laws  replaced  by  the  law  of  God. 
"  Then  shall  the  Oppressor  cease  and  no  more  com- 
plaining be  heard  in  the  streets.  Taxes  should  be  no 
more.  And  Trade  and  industry  should  abound.  .  .  . 
The  poor  should  have  bread,  and  the  Army  no  more  in 
Arrears.  Prison  doors  should  be  open  and  Debtors 
satisfied  without  Arrests  .  .  .  then  peace  and  safety, 
plenty  and  prosperity,  should  overflow  the  land."  ** 

To  bring  about  this  happy  state  of  things,  the  saints 
must  watch  and  pray,  seek  union  among  themselves, 
and  keep  apart  from  the  world,  as  a  peculiar  people, 
ready,  when  the  call  came,  to  do  their  part  in  the  pour- 
ing out  of  the  seven  vials.'^  They  should  also  direct 
the  government  toward  the  right  path,  and  testify  un- 
ceasingly against  any  failure  to  follow  it,  serene  in  the 
confidence  that  the  Lord  would  overturn  any  govern- 
ment that  failed  to  heed  these  warnings,  and  would 
continue  to  overturn,  until  one  arose  which  would  do 
his  work.*' 

Such  was  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party's  program — a 
direct  result  of  the  belief  in  the  possibility  of  creating 
a  scheme  of  things  entire  through  a  literal  interpre- 
tation of  the  Scriptures.    In  so  far  as  its  members  con- 

«  Peter  Chamberlen,  Legislative  Power  in  Problems  (Thomason). 

*"  Revelation,  xvi. 

"  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Remove  the  diadem,  and  take  off  the 
crown:  this  shall  not  be  the  same:  exalt  him  that  is  low,  and  abase  him 
that  is  high.  I  will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn  it:  and  it  shall  be  no 
more,  until  he  come  whose  right  it  is;  and  I  will  give  it  him."  Ezekiel, 
xxi,  26,  27. 


26        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

fined  themselves  to  a  discussion  of  the  time  and  circum- 
stances of  the  millenium,  they  were  of  no  more  impor- 
tance than  any  other  of  the  curious  sects  which  were 
so  numerous  in  the  England  of  that  day.  But  the  fact 
that  they  regarded  themselves  as  having  a  further  duty, 
that  of  admonishing  the  government  of  its  failings,  and 
suggesting  methods  of  reform,  gave  another  aspect 
to  their  activities.  It  is  true  that  all  sorts  and  condi- 
tions of  men  at  this  time  felt  the  same  duty  incumbent 
upon  them,  and  that  the  men  at  the  head  of  the  state 
were  constantly  receiving  from  groups  of  anxious  citi- 
zens suggestions  as  to  the  settlement  of  the  govern- 
ment.** But  the  suggestions  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
men  were  given  as  from  the  saints  that  were  to  help 
set  up  the  kingdom,  and  there  was  always  the  possibility 
that  the  saints,  finding  their  suggestions  ignored,  might 
feel  called  upon  to  take  upon  themselves  the  work  of 
establishing  the  kingdom,  by  force  if  need  be.  This 
it  was  that  from  the  outset  caused  the  very  men  who 
had  preached  of  the  imminence  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
John  Owen  and  Thomas  Goodwin,  to  regard  the  new 
party  with  suspicion.  Color  was  unquestionably  given 
to  such  suspicions  by  the  language  used  by  members  of 
the  party.  Sermons  which  dealt  with  the  destruction  of 
the  Image  of  the  Beast,  the  warfare  of  the  saints,  the 
pulling  down  of  Babylon,  as  of  matters  about  which 
men  must  soon  be  busy,  had  a  dangerous  sound,  how- 
ever figuratively  the  language  employed  might  have 

*^  Among  others,  A  Model  of  a  New  Representative,  1651,  and  A  Cry 
.  .  .  with  some  Cautions  touching  the  Elections  of  the  {.expected)  New 
Representative,  1651,  both  in  Thomason.  A  number  of  Independents  and 
Baptists  published  a  disclaimer  of  these  two:  A  Declaration  of  divers 
Elders  and  Brethren  of  Congregationall  Societies,  1651  (Thomason). 
The  ideas  of  the  authors  on  government  were  incidentally  given. 


BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN        27 

been  used."  Whether  it  was  used  figuratively  or  not 
was  yet  to  be  proved :  at  any  rate  it  was  clear,  in  the 
year  1652,  that  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  felt  called 
upon  to  meddle  with  matters  of  state. 

What  were  the  relations  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party 
with  the  Baptists?  We  have  seen  that  its  members 
were  drawn  from  both  Baptist  and  Independent 
churches.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  estimate  the  relative 
proportion  of  the  two  denominations  represented;  it 
was  stated  in  1660  that  there  were  quite  as  many  Inde- 
pendents as  Baptists  among  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men.°° 
But  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  common  term  for 
Baptist  was  Anabaptist,  and  that  the  terni  at  once  sug- 
gested the  attempt  of  Knipperdoling  and  John  of  Ley- 
den  to  establish  the  millennium  at  Miinster,  it  does  not 
seem  strange  that  those  who  had  no  sympathy  either 
with  millenary  dreams  or  with  antipedobaptism,  were 
content  to  characterize  the  new  movement  as  Anabaptist. 
The  fact  that  the  greater  number  of  the  preachers  were 
Baptists  gave  additional  verisimilitude  to  the  character- 
ization. It  is  only  by  considering  the  events  of  each 
year  that  we  can  come  to  know  what  actually  were  the 
relations  of  the  Baptists  in  general  to  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men,  and  what  was  the  attitude  of  either  party, 
at  different  times,  to  the  civil  power.  It  is  this  which 
we  are  to  attempt  in  the  pages  that  follow. 

**  A  visitor  at  Blackfriars  in  the  summer  of  1653  wrote,  "  I  heard  one 
prayer  and  two  sermons;  but  good  God!  what  cruel,  and  abominable,  and 
most  horrid  trumpets  of  fire,  murther  and  flame  ".  Beverning  to  De  Witt, 
Aug.  26/Sept.  5,   1653,  in  Thurloe,  I,  441. 

^"Moderation;  or  Arguments  and  Motives  tending  thereunto,  by  S.  T., 
1660  (Thomason). 


CHAPTER  II. 

Government  by  the  Saints. 

The  Fifth  Monarchy  men  abstained  from  pohtical 
agitation  during  the  fall  and  early  winter  of  1652.  A 
visitor  at  one  of  their  meetings  described  the  Baptists 
and  Independents  as  meeting  in  different  rooms,  con- 
sidering matters  of  doctrine,  and  praying  for  the  Holy 
Spirit,  a  knowledge  of  the  right  way  of  propagating 
the  gospel,  and  union  among  the  churches.^  The  army 
petition  of  the  preceding  August,  with  its  request  for 
the  abolition  of  tithes,  for  law  reform,  and  for  the  ad- 
mission of  none  but  godly  men  to  office  and  to  seats  in 
Parliament,  must  have  had  their  approval ;  and  the 
favorable  attitude  toward  these  reforms  which  Parlia- 
ment at  first  assumed  seemed  to  presage  well  for  the 
new  modeling  of  the  government.  But  toward  the  end 
of  the  year,  when  it  became  evident  that  no  action  was 
intended,  the  situation  changed,  and  violent  attacks 
upon  Parliament  began  to  be  heard.  At  Allhallows  the 
Great,  prayers  for  a  new  representative  were  quashed 
by  the  government,  but  at  Blackfriars  and  elsewhere 
the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  continued  to  preach  vehem- 
ently against  the  Long  Parliament.^  An  additional 
cause  of  offense  was  furnished  by  the  negotiations  with 
the  Dutch.    Moreover,  the  rejection  of  the  bill  continu- 

^  Erbery,  Bishop  of  London. 

2  Extracts  from  Clarendon  MSS.,  March  i8,  April  8,  13,  1653,  in 
English  Historical  Review,  1893,  528-529;  Gardiner,  Commonwealth  and 
Protectorate,   II,   232,   248   ff. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  29 

ing  in  authority  the  commissioners  for  the  propagation 
of  the  gospel,  an  action  iniquitous  enough  in  itself,  in 
the  eyes  of  members  of  the  gathered  churches,  struck 
home  with  particular  force  to  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men, 
for  Thomas  Harrison  was  one  of  the  commissioners, 
and  Vavasor  Powell  one  of  the  ministers  who  would 
be  displaced  through  the  failure  of  the  act/  The  re- 
fusal of  Parliament  to  consider  the  bill  for  a  new  rep- 
resentative brought  matters  to  a  head,  and  when  Crom- 
well, suspicious  of  the  plan  of  Vane  and  his  party  to 
prolong  indefinitely  the  power  of  the  members  then 
sitting,  violently  drove  out  the  Parliament  which  had 
continued  so  long,  Harrison  was  following  out  the  ideas 
of  his  party  in  acting  as  his  lieutenant.* 

The  Fifth  Monarchy  preachers  were  loud  in  their 
praises  of  Cromwell's  act.  The  dissolution  of  Parlia- 
ment proved  conclusively  that  the  Ancient  of  Days  had 
set  up  his  throne  in  England.  Parliament  had  finished 
the  work  the  Lord  had  set  for  it,  and  now  Cromwell 
had  been  raised  up  to  purge  the  throne  it  had  begun  to 
dishonor.  A  new  and  wonderful  rule  was  to  be  inaugu- 
rated, bringing  with  it  every  blessing,"  As  a  news 
writer  quoted  Powell,  preaching  at  Whitehall,  "  Law 
should  streame  downe  like  a  river  freely,  as  for  twenty 
shillings  what  formerly  cost  twenty  pounds,  impar- 
tially as  the  saints  please,  and  it  should  runn  as  rivers 
doe,  close  to  the  doors." '  It  was  to  be  a  government  by 
the  saints,  and  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  considered  it 
their  duty,  as  saints,  to  suggest  the  means  by  which  it 
should  be  instituted. 

*  Ibid.,  249. 

*  Ibid.,  255. 

"  Canne,  Voice  from  the  Temple. 
"English  Historical  Review,  1893,  533- 


30        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

"  We  humbly  advise  that  forasmuch  as  the  policy 
and  greatnesse  of  men  hath  ever  failed,  yee  would  now 
at  length  (in  the  next  election)  suffer  and  encourage 
the  saincts  of  God  in  his  spirit,  to  recommend  unto  you 
such  as  God  shall  choose  for  that  worke." '  So  ran  a 
message  from  North  Wales.  A  London  congregation, 
whose  pastor  was  the  Fifth  Monarchy  Baptist,  Edmund 
Chillenden,  proposed  that  three  times  the  desired  num- 
ber of  men  be  nominated,  and  the  selection  made  from 
them,  according  to  scriptural  precedent,  by  lot.' 
Another  suggestion  was  that  the  choice  be  made  from 
the  army,  since  it  represented  the  gathered  churches.' 
A  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  John  Rogers  at  St. 
Thomas  Apostle's  resulted  in  a  set  of  proposals,  the 
substance  of  which  was  that  the  government  be  put  into 
the  hands  of  a  Sanhedrim  of  seventy  godly  men, 
chosen  by  Cromwell,  and  set  apart  for  the  work  by 
prayer." 

When  it  finally  became  known  that  Cromwell  and  his 
advisers  had  decided  to  put  into  practice  the  principle 
at  the  root  of  these  suggestions,  that  is,  to  summon  an 
assembly  of  godly  men,  the  Fifth  Monarchists  were 
jubilant,  and  Cromwell  was  hailed  as  the  Moses  who 
was  to  establish  the  new  order,  the  chief  ruler  appointed 

^  "  A  voice  out  of  the  hearts  of  diverse  that  wait  for  the  Lord  Jesus  in 
Denbighshire,  in  North  Wales  ",  in  Nickolls,  Letters  and  Papers  of  State, 

120. 

* "  The  humble  representation  of  the  congregation  of  Jesus  Christ 
meeting  at  the  Chequer  without  Aldgate  ",  ibid.,  121.  Approbation  was 
expressed  of  the  qualifications  for  nomination  suggested  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  1652,  mentioned  above,  ch.  I,  note  48. 

»  Spittlehouse,  The  Army  Vindicated,  1653  (Thomason).  A  few  weeks 
later  he  had  decided  that  Cromwell  ought  to  do  the  nominating.  Spittle- 
house,   A    Warning  Piece   Discharged    (Thomason). 

^*  Rogers,  A  Few  Proposalls  (Thomason). 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  31 

by  God."  There  were,  however,  dissenting  voices.  The 
discovery  that  Cromwell  had  adopted  the  plan  with 
some  reluctance,  and  had  desired  to  modify  it  by  giving 
seats  to  such  men  as  Fairfax,  who  had  no  connection 
with  the  gathered  churches,  gave  rise  in  some  hearts  to 
the  feeling  that  perhaps  the  leading  role  in  the  new 
order  was  to  be  reserved  for  some  one  more  enlightened 
regarding  it.  Naturally  that  other  would  be  Harrison, 
the  chief  champion  of  the  new  plan  in  the  Council  of 
Officers.  Harrison  was  said  to  have  made  no  secret  of 
his  dissatisfaction  with  Cromwell's  attitude,  and  the 
drifting  apart  of  the  two  men  seems  to  have  dated  from 
this  time."  Still,  in  spite  of  some  signs  of  disaffection, 
the  general  attitude  was  one  of  hopefulness,  and  when 
at  last  the  Little  Parliament  assembled,  the  work  of 
regeneration  was  breathlessly  awaited." 

Whatever  Cromwell's  misgivings  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  attempting  a  government  by  the  saints,  his  speech  on 
opening  the  assembly  which  was  to  put  the  experiment 
to  the  test,  was  enthusiastic  enough  to  satisfy  the  most 
extreme  supporters  of  the  theory;  indeed,  expressed 
their  very  hopes,  that  the  day  of  the  fulfilment  of  proph- 

**  Spittlehouse,  A  Warning  Piece  Discharged.  Rogers,  much  encour- 
aged, wrote  another  letter  to  Cromwell,  suggesting  reform  of  the  law, 
abolition  of  tithes,  and  so  forth.  Extract  from  introduction  to  Beth- 
shemcsh  Clouded,  in  Edward  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  53  ff. 

^  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  II,  274,  276. 

"  Letters  of  John  Portman,  July  8,  20,  Calendar  of  State  Papers, 
Domestic,  1652-1653,  15,  39.  The  Faithful  Scout,  July  8,  1653,  greeted  the 
Parliament  with  a  reference  to  "  these  Overturning,  Overturning,  Over- 
turning dayes  ",  and  expressed  the  hope  that  it  would  "  endeavor  the 
directing  of  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  to  tlae  uttermost  parts  of  the 
Earth  ".  Border,  the  author  of  the  Scout,  was  a  Baptist,  and  strongly 
sympathized  with  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party.  See  the  issue  for  Oct. 
27,  1652. 


32        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

ecy  was  perhaps  at  hand."  While  it  was  a  question  of  de- 
ciding upon  the  best  settlement  of  the  nation,  Crom- 
well's strong-  common  sense  had  allowed  no  millenary 
enthusiasm  to  blind  him  to  the  practical  drawbacks  of 
placing  the  government  in  the  hands  of  a  body  of  men 
chosen  for  their  godliness  alone,  and  quite  without 
political  experience.  But,  now  that  he  was  committed 
to  the  experiment,  he  gave  free  rein  to  the  other  side  of 
his  nature,  and  to  the  hope  that,  since  the  best  govern- 
ment ought  surely  to  be  a  government  carried  on  by 
good  men,  these  good  men  were  to  be  made  instru- 
ments for  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 

The  assembly  in  which  such  high  hopes  were  cen- 
tered, called  in  later  days  after  a  worthy  Baptist  among 
its  members  who  was  conspicuous  for  his  name  as  well 
as  for  his  activities,  was  stigmatized  by  contemporaries 
as  a  company  of  Anabaptists."  It  was  certainly  a  body 
unique  among  English  Parliaments,  but  it  would  be  a 
mistake  to  think  of  it  as  composed  chiefly  of  fanatics  and 
enthusiasts.  The  changes  made  by  the  Council,  to- 
gether with  the  moderate  men  among  the  nominees  of 
the  churches,  reduced  the  number  that  advocated  an 

^*  "  I  say,  you  are  called  with  a  high  call;  and  why  should  we  be  afraid 
to  say  or  think,  that  this  way  may  be  the  door  to  usher  in  things  that 
God  hath  promised  and  prophesied  of,  and  [so]  set  the  hearts  of  his 
people  to  wait  for  and  expect?  We  know  who  they  are  that  shall  war 
with  the  Lamb  against  his  enemies;  they  shall  be  a  people,  called,  chosen, 
and  faithful.  .  .  .  Indeed  I  do  think  something  is  at  the  door.  We  are 
at  the  threshold,  and  therefore  it  becomes  us  to  lift  up  our  heads  and  to 
encourage  ourselves  in  the  Lord.  And  we  have  some  of  us  thought  it 
our  duty  to  endeavour  this  way,  not  vainly  looking  on  that  prophecy  in 
Daniel,  And  the  Kingdom  shall  not  be  delivered  to  another  people." 
July  4,  1653.     Stainer,  Speeches  of  Cromwell,  113,  114. 

"Intercepted  letter,  August  i/ii,  1653,  Thurloe,  I,  393.  "II  seroit 
difficile  de  descrire  les  quallites  et  conditions  de  ces  nouveaux  ministres: 
il  y  en  a  de  tous  arts  et  professions,  et  leur  plus  grand  talent  est  de 
prescher."     Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  July  4/14,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  ZZ 

extreme  program  to  not  more  than  sixty  out  of  the  one 
hundred  and  forty  members."  Still,  in  organization 
and  regularity  of  attendance,  the  radical  party  went  far 
toward  making  up  its  deficiency  in  numbers,  and,  by 
the  expedient  of  dispensing  with  a  regular  clergyman, 
and  having  the  prayers  offered  by  different  members 
in  turn,  it  proceeded  to  impart  to  its  sittings  the  atmos- 
phere of  a  gathered  church."  When  a  debate  arose  as 
to  the  name  by  which  the  assembly  should  be  known, 
some  of  the  radicals  advocated  the  term  Parliament, 
"  because  of  the  lowness  and  innocency  of  the  title,  hav- 
ing little  of  earthly  glory  or  boasting  in  it  ".'*  In  the 
declaration  which  they  issued  on  July  12,  the  members 
stated  that  Gods'  people  were  looking  for  strange 
changes,  as  they  were  before  Christ's  birth;  that  the 
records  of  no  nation  so  showed  the  actings  of  God  as 
did  England's ;  that  they  hoped  to  be  the  instruments 
to  complete  his  work,  by  promoting  the  gospel,  break- 
ing yokes,  and  removing  burdens.""  It  was  resolved 
that  none  but  religious  men  should  be  employed,  and 
the  nation  was  invited  to  join  in  a  service  of  prayer. 

^"Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  II,  281,  307  ff.  Among  the  radical  members  those 
who  can  be  identified  as  Baptists  or  Fifth  Monarchy  men  are  the  follow- 
ing: Praise-God  Barbone  (B.),  Robert  Bennet  (B.),  John  Browne 
(F.  M.),  John  Carew  (F.  M.),  Hugh  Courtney  (F.  M.),  John  Crofts  (B.), 
Henry  Danvers  (F.  M.,  B.),  Thomas  Harrison  (F.  M.),  Samuel  High- 
land (B.),  Dennis  Hollister  (B.),  John  James  (B.,  F.  M.),  Francis  Lang- 
don  (F.  M.),  Samuel  Moyer  (B.),  Richard  Price  (F.  M.),  William 
Reeve  (B.),  William  Spence  (B.),  Arthur  Squib  (F.  M.),  John  Williams 
(B.,  F.  M.). 

"  Exact  Relation,  reprinted  in  Somers  Tracts,  VI,  266  ff.  Firth  be- 
lieves this  account  to  have  been  written  by  Samuel  Highland,  Gardiner, 
o/*.  cit.,  II,  288,  note  4.  It  was  by  contemporaries  attributed  to  Praise- 
God  Barbone.    See  A  FaithfuU  Searching  Home  Word,  1659  (Thomason). 

"^  Exact  Relation. 

^*Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1653-1654,  21. 


34        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

These  preliminaries  once  out  of  the  way,  Parliament 
proceeded  to  attack  the  great  subject  of  tithes.  On 
July  15  it  was  proposed  that  no  minister  receive  his 
maintenance  from  tithe  after  November  3.  The  ques- 
tion of  putting  to  vote  this  sweeping  measure  was  de- 
feated by  sixty-eight  votes  against  forty-three.  After 
some  discussion  and  substantial  modification,  the  ques- 
tion was,  by  a  vote  of  fifty-six  to  forty-nine,  referred  to 
a  committee.  In  both  divisions,  Harrison  acted  as  tel- 
ler for  the  minority.^"  This  was  the  first  check  for  the 
reformers.  The  tithe  system  as  it  existed  was  quite 
generally  regarded  as  objectionable,  but  the  moderate 
party  insisted  that  it  should  not  be  abolished  until  some 
other  mode  of  supporting  the  clergy  should  have  been 
devised.  The  radicals,  as  one  of  them  expressed  it, 
proposed  to  "  have  it  removed  as  a  grievance  in  the  first 
place,  and  then  to  make  provision  as  God  should 
direct  "^  The  same  policy  guided  them  with  regard 
to  the  Court  of  Chancery,  and  here  they  had  the  sup- 
port of  the  moderates.  On  August  5,  without  a  division, 
a  vote  was  passed  for  the  abolition  of  that  court.*^  In 
the  Marriage  Act,  too,  the  radicals  were  able  to  estab- 
lish the  principle  that  marriage  is  a  purely  civil  insti- 
tution, and  to  make  obligatory  that  registration  of 
births,  marriages,  and  deaths  which  had  for  years  been 
customary  in  the  Baptist,  and  in  some  of  the  Independ- 
ent congregations.^ 

The  attitude  of  the  Parliament  with  regard  to  law 
reform  sheds  light  upon  the  real  strength  of  the  Fifth 

=="  Commons  Journals,  VII,  285,  286. 

^1  Exact  Relation.  John  Rogers,  at  the  request  of  some  of  the  members 
of  Parliament,  argued  before  the  committee  on  tithes  in  September,  Fifth 
Monarchy  Man,  78  ff. 

^-  Commons  Journals,  VII,  296.     The  act  never  went  into  effect. 

^  Barclay,  Religious  Societies  of  the  Commonwealth,  397,  note,  406. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  35 

Monarchy  party  in  the  House.  One  of  the  moderates 
complained  that  all  members  were  "  unsainted  and  con- 
demn'd  into  the  Fourth  Monarchy,  and  looked  upon 
as  obstructors  of  Reformation,  and  no  longer  fit  for  the 
work,  if  not  thorough-paced  to  all  the  Principles  of 
Reformation  held  forth  by  Mr.  Feake  and  others  at 
Black  fryers  and  other  places  ".^  Now  among  the 
things  demanded  from  Fifth  Monarchy  pulpits  and  in 
Fifth  Monarchy  pamphlets  was  the  abolition  of  the 
existing  laws  of  England  as  a  remnant  of  the  Norman 
yoke,  and  the  substitution  for  them  of  the  laws  of 
God  as  laid  down  in  the  Scriptures.'''*  Most  people 
were  agreed  that  the  laws  of  England  were  in  need  of 
simplification  and  reform.  Cromwell  was  later  to  urge 
action  in  that  direction  on  his  Parliaments  repeatedly. 
Members  of  the  gathered  churches  had  clear  ideas  in 
what  direction  reform  should  proceed.  John  Coke 
wanted  them  cleared  of  everything  "  either  properly 
and  directly,  or  collaterally  and  obliquely,  repugnant  to 
the  law  of  God  ".*"  All  the  radicals,  and  even  some  of 
the  moderates  would  wish  to  further  some  sort  of  legal 
reform,  and  there  was  no  difficulty  about  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  take  charge  of  the  matter.  For 
the  use  of  this  committee  the  results  of  the  labors  of  a 
similar  committee  of  the  Long  Parliament  were  ordered 
printed."  But  on  August  9  a  committee  was  appointed 
"  to  consider  of  a  new  Body  of  the  law."    Its  existence 

^  An  Answer  to  a  Paper  entituled,  a  True  Narrative  of  the  Dissolution 
of  the  late  Parliament,  1654  (Thomason). 

^Rogers,  Sagrir,  1653  (Thomason);  Aspinwall,  The  Legislative  Power 
is  Christ's  peculiar  Prerogative,  1656,  and  Explication,  1654  (Thomason). 

^  Cited  by  Robinson,  in  Select  Essays  in  Anglo-American  Legal  His- 
tory   (Boston,    1907),   I,  481. 

="  Somers,   Tracts,  VI,   177-245. 


2,6        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

however,  gave  currency  to  the  story  that  a  movement 
was  on  foot  to  abolish  the  laws  of  England,  and  sub- 
stitute the  Mosaic  code.  The  apologist  of  the  radicals 
claimed  that  this  report  was  due  to  the  substitution  by 
the  clerk  of  the  expression  "  new  body  of  the  law  "  for 
"  new  model  of  the  law  ",  and  indignantly  denied  that 
the  intention  was  "  to  destroy  the  law,  and  take  away 
the  Laws  we  had  been  fighting  for  all  this  while  as  our 
birthright  and  inheritance  ".  He  claimed  that  the  ob- 
jection to  the  laws  was  their  volume  and  intricacy,  and 
"  incongruity  in  many  things  with  the  word  of  God  ", 
and  that  what  was  desired  was  their  reform  and  simpli- 
fication, "  not  a  destroying  of  the  law,  or  putting  it 
down  ".^  The  reasonable  conclusion  is,  that  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  in  the  House,  while  they  could  depend 
upon  the  support  of  the  Baptists  and  a  large  number  of 
the  Independents  for  measures  of  law  reform,  and  even 
for  the  unqualified  abolition  of  tithes,  found  themselves 
in  a  hopeless  minority  when  it  came  to  the  more  ex- 
treme part  of  their  program,  and  therefore  did  not  urge 
a  plan  in  which  they  undoubtedly  believed.^' 

While  it  was  Fifth  Monarchy  doctrine  that  laid  the 
assembly  open  to  the  reproach  that  it  meant  to  abolish 
the  laws,  it  was  probably  the  Baptist  attitude  which 
seemed  to  justify  a  rumor  that  it  contemplated  abolish- 
ing the  universities.  William  Dell,  a  well-known  Bap- 
tist who  was  master  of  Caius  College,  Cambridge,  had 
in  the  preceding  April  published  an  argument  intended 
to  prove  that  the  universities  were  in  no  way  essential 
for  the  training  of  ministers.  He  argued,  however,  that 

^  Exact  Relation. 

^  See  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  II,  314,  note,  322,  note  2. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  2,7 

"  if  the  Universities  will  stand  upon  a  Human  and  Civil 
account,  as  Schools  of  good  Learning  for  the  in- 
structing- and  educating  youth  in  the  knowledge  of 
Tongues  and  of  the  liberal  Arts  and  Sciences,  thereby 
to  make  them  useful  and  serviceable  to  the  Common- 
wealth .  .  .  and  will  be  content  to  shake  hands  with 
their  Ecclesiastical  and  Antichristian  Interest,  then  let 
them  stand  .  .  ,  but  if  they  will  still  exalt  themselves 
above  themselves  and  place  themselves  on  Christ's  very 
Throne  .  .  .  then  let  them  .  .  .  descend  into  the  dark- 
ness out  of  which  the.y  first  sprang  "/°  The  principle 
of  the  Baptists  that  all  men  who  felt  a  call  to  preach 
were  thereby  qualified  for  the  task  had  brought  them 
to  this  feeling  that  universities  were  not  absolutely 
indispensable  institutions,  and  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  the  Baptists  as  well  as  many  of  the  Independents 
in  the  Parliament  were  inclined  to  favor  reform  along 
the  lines  advocated  by  Dell.  There  may  even  have  been 
some  enthusiast  imbued  with  the  ideas  of  Samuel  How, 
the  Baptist  preacher  of  earlier  days,  who  in  the  House 
proposed  their  unconditional  abolition,  and  thus  gave 
rise  to  the  single  report  that  has  come  down  to  us  that 
such  a  thing  was  contemplated/^  If  so,  his  following 
was  very  limited,  as  otherwise  the  matter  would  have 
attracted  more  notice. 

It  was  early  evident  that  the  reform  party  in  Parlia- 
ment was  not  inclined  to  favor  the  ideas  of  the  Level- 
lers. Certainly  those  who  were  Fifth  Monarchists  had 
no  sympathy  with  them,  for  though  the  two  parties 
agreed  in  their  objection  to  tithes  and  existing  legal 

3"  The  Stumbling  Stone,   1653   (Thomason). 

*^Pauluzzi  to  Morosini,  Dec.  15/25,  1653,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts.  For 
Samuel  How,  see  Barclay,  op.  cit.,  502,  503. 


38       BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

institutions,  their  principles  were  fundamentally  at 
variance.  While  the  ideal  of  the  Levellers  was  gov- 
ernment by  the  people,  that  of  the  Fifth  Monarchists 
was  government  by  the  elect,  and  while  the  Levellers 
longed  for  a  full  and  free  Parliament,  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  yearned  for  a  dispensation  from  Heaven. 
There  seems  to  have  been  no  representative  of  the  Lev- 
ellers' cause  in  the  Little  Parliament,  and  whatever 
individual  sympathy  there  was  at  the  outset  for  the  case 
of  John  Lilburne  soon  wore  itself  out.  Refusing  at 
first  to  intervene  in  order  to  secure  a  suspension  of  his 
trial.  Parliament  later  imprisoned  some  petitioners  in  his 
favor,  and  finally,  on  his  acquittal,  ordered  him  kept  in 
prison.  His  supporters  issued  an  attack  on  Cromwell 
and  his  "  so-called  Parliament",  and  invited  the  people 
of  England  to  convene  on  October  i6  to  elect  a  true 
Parliament.""  On  that  day  it  happened  that  Edmund 
Chillenden's  congregation,  which  had  had  its  hand  in 
suggesting  the  composition  of  the  "  so-called  Parlia- 
ment ",  was  listening  to  a  sermon  by  its  pastor  in  one 
of  the  chapels  of  St.  Paul's,  which  it  had  been  occupy- 
ing since  the  preceding  June.^  The  mob  that  gathered 
in  answer  to  the  bidding  of  the  Levellers  showed  its 
opinion  of  the  sentiments  of  these  godly  folk  by  throw- 
ing stones  through  the  windows.  Chillenden  was  a 
man  of  war  as  well  as  a  preacher,  and  a  riot  ensued, 
which  was  dispelled  only  by  the  intervention  of  the 

8*  See   Gardiner,    op.    cit.,   II,   296  ff. 

^  See  above,  p.  30,  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dotn.,  1652-1653,  423.  Several  years 
earlier  this  congregation  had  presented  to  the  committee  for  propagating 
the  gospel  a  petition  against  tithes  and  a  national  church.  Grey,  Ex- 
aminatioH  of  Neale's  Puritans,  149. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  39 

mayor  and  sheriffs,  who  by  good  fortune  were  wor- 
shipping close  at  hand.^^ 

Although  like  the  rest  of  the  sectaries  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  had  until  this  time  approved  and  supported 
the  Parliament,  yet  as  the  weeks  went  by  and  none  of 
the  great  reforms  begun  so  boldly  were  carried  through, 
they  began  to  get  uneasy,  and  when  the  elections  to  the 
Council  of  State  on  November  i  gave  the  moderate 
party  a  majority  in  that  body,  which  it  was  surmised 
might  take  steps  to  end  the  war  with  the  Dutch,  un- 
easiness gave  way  to  hostility.  This  hostility  extended 
to  the  "  Parliament,  army.  Council  of  State,  and  all  men 
in  power  ",  but  Cromwell  came  in  for  the  largest  share 
of  abuse/'  The  chief  center  of  disturbance  was  Black- 
friars,  and  Feake  was  the  most  violent,  though  Harri- 
son also  called  attention  to  himself  by  open  criticism 
from  the  pulpit  of  Cromwell  and  the  Dutch  peace.'"' 

The  position  of  Cromwell  was  a  difficult  one.  Early 
in  August  he  had  begun  to  show  dissatisfaction  with 
his  Parliament.  The  radical  party  in  that  body  was 
supported  in  the  Council  of  State  by  Harrison  and  his 
adherents.     Yet   Cromwell   was   held   responsible  by 

»*  Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  Oct.  17/27,  1653,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts;  The 
Madman's  Plea,  or  a  sober  Defence  of  Captain  Chillington's  Church, 
by  W.  E[rbury]  (Thomason) ;  Cal.  St.  P.,  Doin.,  1633-1654,  200,  205; 
newspapers  for  the  week  of  Oct.  16,  1653.  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  II,  304, 
note  2,  comments  on  the  fact  that  about  this  time  Chillenden,  who  was  a 
captain  in  the  army,  was  cashiered  for  some  unknown  cause.  A  letter 
from  a  member  of  his  congregation  shows  that  he  was  the  following  month 
excommunicated  for  immorality,  and,  in  accordance  with  the  strict  dis- 
cipline of  the  army  at  the  time,  this  may  be  the  reason  why  his  commission 
was  taken  from  him.  The  letter  contains  some  interesting  details  as  to 
the  chapel.  Samuel  Gates  to  Robert  Jeffes,  Nov.  15,  1653,  Rawlinson 
MSS.,  A  8,  fol.  127. 

"Bordeaux  to  Mazarin,  Nov.  7/17,  1653,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts;  Mod- 
erate Publisher,  Nov.  19-Dec.  2;  Thurloe,  I,  396,  442,  501,  519,  534. 

««76»d.,  610,  612.  621. 


40       BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

the  public  for  the  actions  of  both  bodies.  While  the 
November  election  gave  the  numerical  majority  in  the 
Council  to  the  moderates,  in  the  House  their  majority 
was,  as  we  have  said,  counterbalanced  by  the  fact  that 
they  were  irregular  in  attendance.  The  radicals  took 
their  responsibilities  more  seriously.  Several  reform- 
ing acts  of  real  importance  and  moderation  were 
passed,  but  in  the  renewed  attack  on  Chancery  the  most 
impracticable  measures  were  proposed,  and  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  assessment  bill  was  very  disquieting  to  those 
who  had  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government. 
Moreover,  when  the  great  question  of  church  settle- 
ment was  attacked  in  any  of  its  phases,  it  became  quite 
evident  that  the  barriers  to  an  agreement  were  insur- 
mountable. With  the  denunciations  of  Levellers  and 
Fifth  Monarchy  men  ringing  in  his  ears,  it  is  not 
strange  that  Cromwell  began  to  consider  with  favor 
plans  to  limit  the  power  of  Parliament  and  strengthen 
the  executive.^'  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  he 
approved  the  bill  for  a  High  Court  of  Justice,  intro- 
duced on  the  ground  of  danger  from  the  Royalists,  but 
providing  a  means  of  dealing  with  such  utterances  as 
were  being  hurled  at  him  from  the  pulpits.  By  a  stroke 
of  irony  this  bill  was  hurried  through  the  House  while 
those  who  would  have  opposed  it  were  absent,  listening 
to  one  of  the  orators  at  Blackfriars.'*    Harrison  left 

^  A  letter  to  Cromwell,  dated  Nov.  i6,  deals  with  the  Elackfriars  at- 
tacks on  Parliament,  army,  and  Council,  warns  him  that  such  talk  will 
injure  the  reputation  of  the  government  abroad,  and  advises  him  to  settle 
the  government  on  a  firm  foundation.     Rymer,  Foedera,  XX,  719. 

^  Exact  Relation.  This,  with  the  Answer  to  a  Paper  entituled:  A  True 
Narrative  .  .  .  ,  gives  the  account  of  affairs  from  the  radical  and  the 
moderate  point  of  view  respectively.  Although  Glass  has  devoted  much 
research  to  his  study  of  this  Parliament,  Gardiner's  account,  op  cit.,  II, 
chs.  xxvii,  xxviii,  is  still  the  most  impartial  and  reliable  one  we  have. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  41 

town  the  following  day,  the  general  opinion  being  that 
it  was  on  account  of  the  weakening  of  his  party  and  the 
displeasure  of  Cromwell  with  his  actions/"  Lambert, 
who  had  in  the  days  following  the  dissolution  of  the 
Long  Parliament  advocated  a  strong  central  govern- 
ment in  opposition  to  Harrison's  scheme,  appeared  in 
London,  and  presided  over  a  meeting  of  officers  that 
discussed  the  state  of  affairs. 

These  events  aroused  the  Fifth  Monarchy  preachers 
to  a  new  outburst  of  opposition,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  their  activities,  as  an  index  of  what  might  be  ex- 
pected if  he  should  countenance  another  coup  d'etat, 
influenced  Cromwell  in  his  refusal  to  assume  supreme 
power  at  this  time.  At  least  it  was  while  his  negoti- 
ations with  Lambert's  faction  w^ere  proceeding  that  he 
interviewed  Feake  and  some  of  the  other  preachers, 
and  remonstrated  with  them  for  strengthening  the 
enemies  of  the  Commonwealth  abroad  by  sowing  dis- 
sension at  home.  They  thereupon  accused  him  of  "  as- 
suming exorbitant  power  ",  and  maintained  that  it  was 
their  duty  to  give  voice  to  the  inspirations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Unable  to  make  any  impression  upon  them, 
Cromwell  sent  them  away.  The  next  day  Harrison  was 
back  in  town,  and  Lambert  had  returned  to  the 
country.*" 

In  the  mean  time  the  struggles  in  Parliament  over 
church  reform  continued.  Li  the  middle  of  November 
the  radical  party  had  succeeded  in  carrying,  by  a  close 

8"  Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  Nov.  26/Dec.   6,   1653,  P.   R.   O.  Transcripts. 

<"  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  II,  321.  Later  Cromwell  sent  Sterry,  one  of  his 
chaplains,  and  other  ministers,  to  argue  with  them.  Bordeaux  to  Brienne, 
Dec.  i/ii,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts;  intercepted  letter,  Thurloe,  I,  621.  In 
October  Sterry  and  Caryll  had  approved  a  pamphlet  intended  to  confute 
Fifth  Monarchy  errors.  Homes,  The  Resurrection  Revealed,  1654 
(reprinted,  London,  1833). 


42       BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

vote,  a  motion  to  abolish  patronage.  On  December  i 
it  was  ordered  that  a  bill  to  that  effect  be  brought  in  on 
December  6.  On  the  following  day  the  committee  on 
tithes  made  a  report  embodying  a  scheme  for  com- 
missioners to  eject  unfit  ministers,  and  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  tithes,  with  a  provision  that  any  who 
scrupled  tithe  should  be  allowed  some  other  form  of 
payment.  After  protracted  discussions,  the  first  clause 
was  rejected  on  December  lo  by  a  majority  of  two. 
The  moderates  had  endeavored  to  present  in  this  report 
a  compromise  acceptable  to  all,  but  this  vote  convinced 
them  that  no  compromise  was  possible.  They  therefore 
concocted  and  carried  out  the  scheme  whereby  the  Par- 
liament resigned  its  powers  back  into  the  hands  of 
Cromwell. 

Thus  ended  the  Little  Parliament.  There  could  be  no 
better  illustration  of  the  tenacious  spirit  of  the  radicals 
than  was  furnished  by  the  little  band  of  twenty-eight  or 
thirty,  headed  by  Harrison,  who  sat  doggedly  on,  de- 
claring that  they  had  been  "  called  of  God  to  that  pkce, 
and  that  they  apprehended  that  the  said  call  was  chiefly 
for  the  promoting  the  interest  of  Jesus  Christ  ".^  It 
was  therefore  necessary  for  a  file  of  soldiers  to  put  an 
end  to  the  solitary  attempt  to  govern  England  by  an 
assemblage  of  the  saints. 

The  attempt  to  rule  England  by  means  of  a  body  of 
men  chosen  for  their  godliness  was  a  failure  because 
those  men  were  unwilling  to  temporize,  to  accept  half 
measures  when  the  complete  attainment  of  their  ideals 
was  plainly  impossible,  to  agree  upon  what  was  expe- 
dient instead  of  insisting  upon  what  they  believed  to 

*^  Commons  Journals,  Nov.  17,  Dec.  i,  2,  10,  12;  Great  Britain's  Post, 
Dec.  14-21,  1653;  cf.  Politique  Post,  Jan.  4-11,  1653/4. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  SAINTS  43 

be  right.  They  were  not  all  willing  to  go  the  same 
lengths :  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  among  them  advo- 
cated a  program  far  more  radical  than  did  the  Baptists 
and  Independents ;  but  they  all  agreed  that  the  laws  of 
England  needed  reformation,  and  that  the  system  of 
tithe  should  be  abolished.  Their  numbers  were  suffi- 
cient to  obstruct  legislation  on  controversial  subjects, 
and  since  the  uncompromising  minority  had  failed  to 
devise  what  has  remained  undevised  from  that  day  to 
this — a  means  of  carrying  on  any  government  short  of 
absolute  despotism  without  compromise,  without  tem- 
porizing, without  the  acceptance  of  a  little  good  when 
a  greater  good  seems  unattainable — government  by  the 
saints  was  forced  to  give  way  to  another  form  of  gov- 
ernment. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

The  Protector  and  the  Saints. 

The  establishment  of  the  Protectorate  was  a  great 
blow  to  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men.  They  objected  to  it, 
not  as  did  the  Levellers  and  Parliamentarians,  because 
it  was  a  government  set  up  by  the  army,  but  because  it 
was  a  government  by  a  single  person.  The  only  gov- 
ernment with  a  single  person  at  its  head  which  they  felt 
that  they  could  conscientiously  support  was  the  Fifth 
Monarchy,  or  kingdom  of  Christ.  The  manner  in 
which  the  new  order  was  established  was  also  a  source 
of  ofifense.  "  Yesterday  the  General  was  proclaimed 
protector  ",  wrote  Hugh  Courtney,  "  I  will  not  insert 
the  solemnities,  which  were  too  much  after  the  old 
fashion,  and  so  grievous  to  many.  It  is  hard  now  to 
tell  you  where  the  greatest  joy  is ;  but  I  am  sure  some 
rejoice  with  trembling,  their  sorrow  being  oppressed 
by  reason  of  the  present  shame  and  reproach  they  judge 
to  be  upon  the  gospel  and  the  profession  thereof."  ^ 
"  My  heart  is  full,  and  often  akes  to  consider  what  is 
come  to  pass,  and  what  is  at  the  door."  '  "  The  people 
of  God  are  highly  dissatisfied."  *  "  Mr.  Powell  is  very 
hearty,  high,  and  heavenly."  * 

These  were  not  the  adjectives  applied  to  Powell  by 
an  adherent  of  the  new  order  who  heard  him  say  in  a 

*  Hugh  Courtney  to  John  Jones,  Dec.  20,  1653,  Thurloe,  I,  640. 

*  Same  to  Hugh  Mason,  same  date,  ibid.,  639. 

*  Same  to  Morgan  Lloyd,  same  date,  ibid.,  639. 

*  Same  to  Daniel  Lloyd,  same  date,  ibid.,  640. 

44 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  45 

sermon  on  December  19,  that  it  was  a  great  pity  that 
any  of  the  saints  should  be  supporting  the  government 
of  Cromwell,  which  was  bound  to  be  but  temporary: 
indeed,  "  a  small  matter  should  fetch  him  down  with 
little  noise ".  He  intimated  that  Cromwell  was  the 
"  vile  person  "  referred  to  in  Daniel,  xi,  21,  "  to  whom 
they  shall  not  give  the  honor  of  the  kingdom,  but  he 
shall  come  in  peaceably,  and  obtain  the  kingdom  by 
flatteries  ",  "  Lord  ",  he  cried,  "  have  our  army  men  all 
apostatised  from  their  principles !  What  is  become  of 
all  their  declarations,  protestations,  and  professions? 
Are  they  choked  with  lands,  parks,  and  manors?  Let 
us  go  home  and  pray,  and  say,  '  Lord,  wilt  Thou  have 
Oliver  Cromwell  or  Jesus  Christ  to  reign  over  us  ?  '  "  ' 
Feake,  preaching  at  the  same  meeting,  declared  that 
Cromwell  was  the  little  horn  of  Daniel's  prophecy,  who 
was  to  make  war  upon  the  saints,  and  whom  the  saints 
would  finally  destroy.  On  the  preceding  day  these  two 
had  held  similar  discourse  at  Blackfriars,  where  one  of 
them  called  Cromwell  "  the  dissemblingest  perjured 
villain  in  the  world  ",  and  on  the  day  following,  while 
preaching  in  the  chapel  at  Whitehall,  they  were  arrested 
and  brought  before  the  Council  of  State.  As  their 
behavior  there  was  far  from  conciliatory,  they  were 
sent  to  prison." 

They  were  released  after  a  few  days,  and  as  the 
Blackfriars    meetings    had    been    prohibited,    Powell 

°  Information  of  Marchamont  Needham,  Dec.  20,  1653.  Cal.  St.  P., 
Dom.,  1653-1654,  304  flf. 

8  Intercepted  letter,  Dec.  22,  1653,  Thurloe,  I,  641;  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom., 
1653-1654,  308,  309;  Bordeaux  to  Mazarin,  Dec.  22,  and  to  Brienne,  same 
date,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts;  Several!  Proceedings,  Dec.  29,  1653. 
Hugh  Peters,  in  a  sermon  preached  December  18,  advised  the  people  who 
were  looking  for  Christ's  coming  to  do  so  at  home,  peaceably.  Moderate 
Publisher,  Dec.  21-23,  1653. 


46        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

preached  at  Christ  Church.  One  of  his  hearers  noted 
with  approval  the  peaceable  tone  in  which  he  concluded 
his  discourse,  "  perswading  his  brethren  to  meddle  no 
more  with  Civil  matters,  but  to  speak  of  spiritual  glo- 
ries, which  he  held  forth  in  the  Reigne  of  Christ,  and 
the  Saints  with  him  on  earth  ".'  However,  this  sermon 
was  reported  less  favorably  to  the  government,  and  on 
the  following  day  a  warrant  was  issued  for  his  arrest. 
He  escaped  into  Wales,  but  before  leaving  he  preached 
at  Christ  Church  and  Blackfriars,  declaring  that  some 
ruled  as  kings,  without  the  advice  of  the  saints,  whom 
the  Lord  would  pull  down,  for  the  present  government 
was  not  of  God,  and  would  soon  be  destroyed.^ 

Feake  and  Simpson,  less  fortunate  than  Powell,  were 
arrested  under  the  new  ordinance  which  declared  any 
deliberate  attack  upon  the  existing  government  to  be 
treason,  and  were  imprisoned  at  Windsor  Castle, 
whence  they  wrote  copiously  to  their  respective  congre- 
gations, bidding  them  wait  on  the  Lord,  and  declaring 
their  imprisonment  a  season  of  great  spiritual  comfort." 

'  Erbery,  An  Olive  Leaf :  or,  Some  peaceable  considerations  to  the 
Christians  meeting  at  Christs-Church  in  London   (Thomason). 

*  Faithful  Scout,  Jan.  27-Feb.  3,  1653/4;  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1653-1654, 
353.  Efforts  were  made  at  this  time  by  some  of  the  leading  Independent 
divines  of  London,  both  to  clear  themselves  of  the  suspicion  that  they 
shared  the  ideas  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  and  to  prevent  the  move- 
ment from  spreading.  A  circular  letter,  signed  by  John  Owen,  Thomas 
Goodwin,  Philip  Nye,  and  Sidrach  Simpson,  was  addressed  to  the 
"  Churches  of  Christ  ",  concerning  "  those  high  and  open  attempts  of  some 
of  our  Brethren  in  London:  who  in  pursuit  of  an  opinion  concerning  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Saints,  or  Fifth  Monarchy,  to  be  administered  by  the 
Saints,  by  immediate  Commission  from  Jesus  Christ,  have  decryed  all 
other  Government  that  is  the  Ordinance  of  men,  as  peices  of  the  fourth 
monarchy,  to  which  Christ  in  this  juncture  of  time  they  must  suppose 
hath  put  a  period  ".     January  9,  1653/4,  Carte  MSS.,  81,  fol.  16. 

'Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1653-1654,  449;  Faithful  Scout,  Jan.  27-Feb.  3, 
1653/4;  Severall  Proceedings,  Feb.  2-9;  Moderate  Intelligencer,  Feb. 
16-23;  Loyal  Messenger,  April  3-10;  Weekly  Intelligencer,  April  4-11. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  A,7 

Not  all  the  Fifth  Monarchy  preachers  took  part  at 
the  outset  in  the  denunciation  of  the  Protectorate.  John 
Rogers,  mindful,  perhaps,  of  how  nearly  in  accordance 
with  his  proposals  had  been  the  composition  of  the 
Little  Parliament,  addressed  to  Cromwell,  under  his 
new  title,  a  set  of  propositions  for  the  new  government. 
In  them  Cromwell  is  urged  to  defend  the  cause  of 
Christ  as  opposed  to  earthly  interests,  giving  no  pro- 
tection to  the  state  clergy,  and  rising  superior  to  out- 
worn state  policies,  carnal  counsellors,  and  heathenish 
laws.  He  has  been  an  "  Instrument ",  and  the  saints 
are  praying  that  he  may  continue  one.  Rogers  prom- 
ises that  if  he  will  "  freely  oblige  for  Christ  and  his 
Interest,  the  Faith  and  Prayers  of  the  Saints,  (which 
were  never  higher  than  now)  shall  protect  you  suffi- 
ciently in  all  emergencies ;  but  if  you  will  ingage  for 
Antichrist  and  his  Interest,  the  loud  crying  Faith,  and 
incessant  high-spirited  Prayers  of  the  Saints,  will  all 
ingage  against  you,  and  never  give  Jehovah  Nissi,  the 
Lord  our  Protector  rest,  till  the  excellency  of  Jacob 
have  prevailed.  Take  heed  what  you  do."  It  is  pos- 
sible that  Rogers  was  not  ingenuous  in  these  proposals, 
but  it  seems  probable  that  he  actually  hoped  that  some- 
thing would  come  of  them.  He  was  an  eager,  sanguine 
enthusiast,  and  was  at  this  time  under  the  spell  of  an 
extreme  admiration  for  the  personality  of  Cromwell." 

That  spell  was  no  longer  potent  for  Cromwell's  old 
comrade-at-arms,  Thomas  Harrison.  He  forfeited  his 
commission  rather  than  consent  to  act  under  the  Pro- 
tectorate, and  his  example  was  followed  by  Nathaniel 

^^  The  humble  cautionary  proposals  of  John  Rogers,  1653  (Thomason). 


48        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Rich,  John  Carew,  and  other  officers  of  lesser  note." 
The  newspapers  commented  on  his  sermons  and 
prayers  in  Fifth  Monarchy  meetings,  and  he  was  soon 
asked  to  retire  to  his  father's  house  in  Staffordshire.'^ 
It  was  a  matter  of  common  report  abroad  that  Har- 
rison was  the  leader  of  a  strong  party  against  the  gov- 
ernment, and  however  unlikely  it  might  be  that  he 
would  attempt  an  insurrection,  open  criticism,  coming 
from  a  man  of  his  prominence,  was  dangerous.  His 
being  sent  into  the  country  saved  him,  doubtless,  from 
arrest  under  the  treason  ordinance."^ 

With  the  withdrawal  or  imprisonment  of  the  leading 
agitators  came  an  interval  of  comparative  quiet. 
Samuel  Highland  of  the  Little  Parliament,  Captain 
John  Spencer,  and  Henry  Jessey  the  Baptist  minister, 
carried  on  the  meetings  at  Allhallows,  and  though 
there  was  talk  of  persecution,  and  of  the  imprisonment 
of  the  saints,  it  was  comparatively  innocuous."  Yet  the 
actions  of  the  new  government  were  such  as  to  make  a 
new  outburst  probable.  The  court  ceremonial,  the 
knighting  of  the  mayor,  the  issue  of  an  ordinance  regu- 
lating the  appointment  of  ministers  and  establishing 
the  triers,  the  failure  to  deal  with  the  question  of 
tithes,  the  negotiations  for  peace  with  the  Dutch — all 

^Perfect  Occurrences,  Jan.  27-Feb.  6,  1653/4;  Weekly  Intelligencer, 
Jan.  29-Feb.  8;  Thurloe,  I,  641.  Harrison,  referring  to  this  period  when 
on  trial  as  a  regicide,  said:  "  When  I  found  those  that  were  as  the  apple  of 
mine  eye  to  turn  aside,  I  did  loathe  them.  Rather  than  to  turn  as  many 
did  that  put  their  hands  to  this  plough,  I  chose  rather  to  be  separated 
from  wife  and  family  .  .  .  though  it  was  said,  '  sit  at  my  right  hand  ', 
and  such  kind  of  expressions."  Diet.  Nat.  Biog. 

"  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1653-1654,  387;  Certain  Passages,  Feb.  10-17,  1653/4; 
Moderate  Intelligencer,  Feb.   16-23;   Weekly  Intelligencer,  March  7-14. 

^'Intelligence  from  Paris,  Jan.  7,  1654  (N.  S.),  Thurloe,  I,  650. 

"  Marchamont  Needham  to  Cromwell,  Feb.  7,  1653/4,  Cal.  St.  P., 
Dom.,  1653-1654,  393. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  49 

these  were  as  sparks  to  the  tinder  of  Fifth  Monarchy 
indignation. 

A  particularly  effective  witness  for  the  stirring  up  of 
men's  minds  at  this  time  was  a  certain  Hannah  Trapnel, 
a  member  of  John  Simpson's  church.  In  a  cataleptic 
state,  which  lasted  sometimes  for  days,  she  saw  visions 
and  dreamed  dreams,  which  she  proclaimed  in  verse." 
She  insisted  that  it  was  her  duty  to  declare  for  the  Fifth 
Monarchy,  and  although  she  prayed  for  Cromwell,  and 
counselled  the  people  of  God  not  to  revile,  but  to  ex- 
hort him,  she  enumerated  his  shortcomings  in  great 
detail,  intimating  that  he  was  the  Little  Horn,  and  she 
meddled  with  matters  of  policy  such  as  the  Dutch  peace. 
After  creating  a  nine-days  wonder  in  London,  she  went 
about  the  country  accompanied  by  two  members  of  the 
radical  party  in  the  Little  Parliament,  spreading  the 
doctrine  of  discontent.  She  was  finally  arrested  in 
Cornwall  and  sent  up  to  London.  She  was  imprisoned 
in  Bridewell,  whither  great  crowds  flocked  to  see  and 
hear  her.^"  The  effect  of  her  utterances  was  particu- 
larly great  on  account  of  the  belief  of  a  large  number 
of  her  hearers  that  they  were  directly  inspired  of  God. 
Were  not  such  manifestations  of  a  piece  with  the 
miraculous  ebb  and  flow  of  the  Thames,  the  fall  of  one 
of  the  walls  of  St.  Paul's,  the  comet,  and  the  reputed 
appearance  of  Charles  I's  ghost  at  Whitehall — all  of 
them  signs  of  divine  displeasure  with  the  new  govern- 
ment ?  ^' 

"  The  Cry  of  a  Stone,  Feb.  20,  1653/4;  Strange  and  Wonderful  News 
from  Whitehall,  March  11;  A  Legacy  for  Saints,  July  24  (all  in  Thoma- 
son). 

'^'^Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1653,  393,  1654,  86,  89,  197;  Severall  Proceedings, 
Tan.  12-19,  1653/4;  Mercurius  Politicus,  April  13-20;  Weekly  Intelli- 
gencer, May  3o-.Tune  6;  Perfect  Account,  June  7-14. 

"  B.  T.  to ,  21,  10  mo.,  1654,  Clarke  Papers,  II,  xxxiv. 

5 


so        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

The  fresh  outburst  of  opposition  was  led  by  John 
Rogers,  whose  confidence  in  Cromwell  had  been  con- 
siderably shaken  in  the  interval  between  December  and 
March.  As  early  as  January  he  had  shown  signs  that 
he  was  developing  distrust  of  the  Protector's  intentions, 
and  in  the  last  week  of  March  he  called  a  meeting  at 
the  church  of  St.  Thomas  Apostle's  to  consider  the 
breaking-up  of  the  last  Parliament ;  the  present 
apostasy ;  the  ordinance  on  treason  and  other  signs  of 
persecution ;  the  deadness  of  spirit  among  the  little 
remnant  of  the  saints  ;  the  existing  ministry  ;  the  temp- 
tations of  the  court;  and  such  miscellaneous  evils  as 
hypocrisy,  pride,  oppression,  and  the  prevailing 
drought."  By  the  end  of  May  he  had  worked  himself 
up  to  a  state  of  violence.  A  visitor  at  his  church  in- 
formed the  authorities  that  he  prayed  for  the  hastening 
of  the  time  "  when  al  absolute  power  shal  be  devolved 
into  the  hand  of  Christ;  when  we  shal  have  no  lord 
protector  but  our  Lord  Jesus  .  .  .  Look  in  mercy 
upon  thy  saints  att  Windsor,  that  are  imprisoned  for 
the  truth  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus  .  .  .  Remember 
thy  handmaid,  who  is  brought  to  town,  and  threatned 
by  the  worldly  powers,  who  crucify  Christ  Jesus  in  the 
spirit  every  day.  Heare  the  blasphemies  of  the  court, 
and  regard  their  ridiculous  pomp  and  vanity.  And  now 
Christ  Jesus  is  proclaimed  kinge,  pour  forth  thy  vials 
upon  the  worldly  powers,  the  powers  of  Antichrist ". 
He  then  preached  from  a  text  in  the  gospel  of  Matthew, 
demonstrating  that  the  present  government  was  oppos- 
ing the  kingly  office  of  Christ,  and  applying  the  most 

**  The  Grounds  of  meeting  at  Tho.  Apostle,  the  38th  day  of  the  first 
moneth  1654,  in  solemn  humiliation  before  the  Lord,  beginning  at  7  a  clock 
in  the  morning,  Thurloe,  II,   196, 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  51 

opprobrious  epithets  to  Cromwell  and  his  court."  In 
conclusion  he  read  a  letter  from  Feake  at  Windsor, 
and  then  a  hymn  was  sung,  composed  for  the  occasion, 
and  beginning:  "  Come,  glorious  king  of  Zion,  come  to 
defend  thy  cause  against  all  earthly  powers,  and  to 
work  deliverance  for  thy  captives."  °''    In  spite  of  these 

"Information,  May  28,  1654,  Thurloe,  III,  483.  Other  passages  are 
cited  in  Gardiner,  Commonzvcalth  and  Protectorate,  III,  114. 

^  Several  examples  of  Fifth  Monarchy  hymnology  have  come  down  to 
us.  One  of  them,  by  Powell,  "  Mr.  Powell's  hymn  at  Christ  Church, 
Dec.  18,"  Scout,  Jan.  27-Feb.  3,  1653/4,  is  as  follows: 

To  Christ  our  King,  let  us  praise  sing, 
Who  is  our  Savior  dear, 
Who  is  our  Protector  and  our  Rock, 
Who  will  come  and  soon  appear. 

His  Saints  shall  reign  with  him  on  earth, 
And  great  ones  they  shall  bow; 
The  Battle  and  the  Battle  ax 
And  men  of  war  shall  know 

That  he  will  arise,  and  he  will  rule. 
And  their  power  will  fall, 
And  Christ  our  great  Commander,  He 
Shall  be  our  General. 

Hast  Lord,  come  quickly  down, 
Thy  Saints  do  wait  and  pray, 
And  men  would  fain,  if  they  knew  how 
Thy  prophets  kill  and  slay. 

But  they  shall  live,  and  eke  stand  up. 
And  give  their  testimony 
Against  the  Monarchs  of  the  Earth 
That  sit  and  reign  on  high. 

John  Rogers  produced  verses  of  a  somewhat  better  quality,  to  judge 
from  a  fragment  (Thurloe,  III,   137) : 

For  God  begins  to  honour  us. 

The  saintes  are  marching  on; 

The  sword  is  sharpe,  the  arrows  swift. 

To  destroy  Babylon. 

Cf.  Mr.  Feake's  Hymne  at  Christ  Church,  Aug.  11,  1653  (Thomason). 


52        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

utterances  Rogers  was  allowed  his  liberty  until  July, 
when  he  was  finally  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Lambeth 
Palace.'' 

The  imprisonment  of  these  leaders  by  no  means  put 
an  end  to  their  influence.  The  very  fact  that  they  were 
in  prison  without  trial  witnessed  against  the  govern- 
ment, and  during  their  captivity  they  saw  their  friends, 
preached  sermons,  composed  pamphlets  about  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  and  their  own  sufferings,  and  wrote  letters 
of  encouragement  and  counsel  to  their  congregations. 
"  Rouze  up,  my  dearest  hearts  ",  wrote  Feake  to  the 
Coleman  Street  church,  "  in  the  might  of  your  God, 
and  go  on  in  the  name  of  your  Captain-General,  and 
by  your  secret,  inward,  invisible  weapons,  wound  this 
base,  upstart,  private  interest  under  the  fifth  rib  ".  ^ 

Observe  that  it  is  the  weapons  not  of  the  flesh  but  of 
the  spirit  that  Feake  bids  his  followers  employ.  Al- 
though the  kingdom  is  to  come  from  above,  wrote  one 
very  able  advocate  of  the  cause,  and  it  is  impossible  for 
any  one  to  hasten  its  coming,  "  Is  it  therefore  for  us 
to  sit  still,  and  to  keep  no  watch,  nor  make  preparation 
for  that  day?  Whether  is  it  not  the  dut}'  and  safety  of 
all  men.  Rulers,  Teachers,  and  people,  of  the  whole 
Camp  of  Israel,  to  cast  up  and  remove  the  stumbling 
block  out  of  the  way  of  the  Lord?  "  This  was  to  be 
done  by  reminding  the  rulers  of  their  duty,  and  per- 
suading them  to  set  up  the  laws  of  God.  He  asked 
''  Whether  between  an  immoderate  and  unruly  Spirit 

^  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1654,  263,  438;  Perfect  Account,  Aug.  2-9,  1654; 
Severall  Proceedings,  Aug.  3-10. 

^  The  New  Nonconformist,  May  24,  1654  (Thomason).  This  is  a  col- 
lection of  letters  to  the  different  congregations.  A  few  days  after  its 
publication,  the  Council  of  State  ordered  that  Feake  and  Simpson  be  kept 
close  prisoners,  and  debarred  from  preaching.     Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1654, 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  S3 

on  the  one  hand,  despising-  and  trampling  upon  Author- 
ity, which  is  a  beam  of  God,  and  a  spirit  of  baseness  and 
flattery  on  the  other  hand,  dawbing  over  unrighteous- 
ness, and  having  the  persons  of  men  in  authority  in 
admiration,  because  of  advantage,  is  there  not  between 
both  a  middle  way,  wherein  the  Spirit  of  God  upon  a 
man  may  lead  him  forth  to  bear  his  witness  against 
the  unrighteousness  or  backslidings  of  the  Rulers,  and 
yet  in  the  same  Act  hold  an  holy  reverence  to  the 
Authority  it  self,  and  a  meek  acquiescence  in  the  admin- 
istration of  providence  disposing  the  Authority  into 
such  a  hand,  either  in  an  active  or  permissive  way  ?  "  ^' 
About  the  same  time  were  published  some  sermons 
preached  by  Thomas  Moor  the  preceding  November  at 
Black  friars,  the  meeting  most  given  to  seditious  utter- 
ances. In  these  he  warned  believers  against  trying  to 
hasten  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies,  and  bade  them 
be  subject  to  the  powers  in  being.  He  declared  that 
the  saints  were  not  called  upon  to  take  arms  for  the 
realization  of  Christ's  coming ;  they  might  help  it  for- 
ward, but  not  with  material  weapons.  "  Nor  indeed 
will  there  be  any  long  setling  of  the  Kingdom  or  Glory 
upon  any  sort  of  men  (which  may  be  a  comfort  to  you) 
nothing  but  overturn,  overturn,  overturn,  till  he  whose 
right  it  is  do  come  .  .  .  nor  till  then  is  it  your  time, 
as  Saints,  to  wish  for  or  execute  vengeance  on  them 
that  as  such,  and  for  his  name  sake,  do  trouble  you."  '^ 

'^  Sighs  for  Righteousness,  June  2,  1654  (Thomason).  There  is  also 
a  copy  in  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

''*  Mercies  for  Men,  June  15,  1654  (Thomason).  John  Rogers,  in  an 
open  letter  to  Cromwell,  which  came  into  Thomason's  hands  June  10, 
said:  "  As  Luther  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Saxony,  so  do  we  humbly  to  you, 
my  Lord.  '  I  would  not ',  saith  he,  '  but  all  have  free  liberty,  yet  if  any 
transgress  Gospel  bounds,  and  would  raise  up  seditions  or  wars  against 
you,  then  you  may  repress  them.'  .  .  .  So,  my  Lord,  if  we  stir  up  people 


54        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

With  such  admonitions  before  their  eyes,  the  millen- 
arian  enthusiasts  kept  reasonably  peaceable  during  the 
summer  of  1654.'°  Whatever  may  have  been  the  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  in  their  ranks  as  to  the  propriety 
of  submitting  quietly  to  Cromwell's  rule,  all  probably 
agreed  that  it  was  advisable  to  wait  and  see  what  atti- 
tude would  be  adopted  by  the  coming  Parliament. 
However,  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  members  of  Parliament  and  of  people  in  gen- 
eral as  to  the  position  of  their  party,  they  issued  a 
manifesto  the  week  of  Parliament's  assembling. 

This  manifesto  is  entitled,  A  Declaration  of  several 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ,  and  Godly  People  in  and 
about  the  Citie  of  London,  concerning  the  Kingly  Inter- 
est of  Christ,  and  the  present  sufferings  of  his  cause 
and  Saints  in  England.'''  It  is  a  violent  attack  on  the 
government,  and  an  arraignment  of  the  army  for  de- 
serting its  old  principles.  "  Did  we  ever  think  to  see 
so  many  hopeful  Instruments  in  the  Army,  Churches, 
and  elsewhere,  to  be  so  fully  gorged  with  the  flesh  of 
Kings,  Captains,  and  Nobles  etc.  (i.  e.  with  their 
Lands,  Mannors,  Estates,  Parks,  and  Palaces)  so  as  to 
sit  with  ease  and  comply  with  Antichrist,  the  World, 
Worldly  Church  and  Clergie  ?  "  Godly  people,  it  goes 
on  to  say,  have  been  deceived  as  to  the  principles  of  the 

to  risings,  tumults,  or  carnal  warfare,  as  men  falsely  charge  us,  then 
punish  us  as  you  please,  for  it  is  contrary  to  our  principles  so  to  do." 
Mene,  Tekel,  Peres,  quoted  in  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  121. 

^  John  Rogers,  preaching  on  June  18,  took  the  treason  ordinance  into 
the  pulpit  with  him,  and  commented  on  it.  He  professed  abhorrence, 
however,  of  plots  directed  against  the  lives  of  those  in  power.  In  spite 
of  these  asseverations,  he  was  considered  seditious,  and  his  arrest  oc- 
curred during  the  following  month.  Perfect  Account,  June  14-21,  Aug. 
2-9,  1654;  Mercurius  Politicus,  July  27-Aug.  3. 

'^  Sept.  2,  1654  (Thomason). 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  55 

Fifth  Monarchy  party,  which  declares  for  the  kingly 
interest  of  Christ,  and  disowns  any  participation  in 
"  carnal  plots  ",  for  its  warfare  is  spiritual.  Announce- 
ment is  made  that  there  will  be  a  weekly  debate,  to 
which  all  the  enlightened  are  invited,  on  the  time,  laws, 
offices,  and  other  features  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy. 

The  paper  has  one  hundred  and  fifty  signatures,  and 
the  statement  is  made  that  the  meeting  at  which  it  was 
drawn  up  had  ruled  that  only  these,  out  of  all  the  signa- 
tures that  were  obtained,  should  be  published.  The 
names  are  arranged  by  congregations,  and  at  first  sight 
it  would  appear  that  the  document  was  issued  by  the 
churches  of  Feake,  Chamberlen,  Rogers,  Raworth, 
Knollys,  Simpson,  Jessey,  Barbone,  Lieutenant-colonel 
Fenton,  and  Samuel  Highland.  A  closer  examination, 
however,  reveals  that  while  signatures  were  made  spe- 
cifically in  the  name  of  the  whole  churches  of  Chamber- 
len and  Rogers,  in  the  other  cases  the  names  are  given 
simply  as  belonging  to  members  of  the  congregations, 
and  the  names  of  Knollys,  Jessey,  Barbone,  Fenton, 
and  Highland,  are  conspicuously  absent."  That  these 
churches  did  not  officially  support  the  manifesto,  and 
that  some  protested  against  this  apparent  misrepresen- 
tation, appears  from  a  query  in  a  pamphlet  by  the  Baptist 
pastor,  Samuel  Richardson :  "  Whether  the  wayes  some 
take  in  opposing  the  present  Government,  doth  not  de- 
clare their  opposition  is  not  from  God,  witness  their 
publishing  of  a  Libel,  called,  a  Declaration  in  the  names 
of  severall  Churches,  with  severall  hands  to  it,  as  if  it 

"  The  names  are  printed  in  columns,  in  blocks,  and  opposite  the  sev- 
eral blocks  the  words  "  Of  the  church  that  walks  with  Mr.  Feake ", 
"  In  the  name  of  the  whole  Church  that  walks  with  Dr.  Chamberlain  ", 
etc. 


56        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

were  signed  by  those  said  churches,  and  upon  exami- 
nation it  is  proved  false  and  counterfeit."  ^ 

Knollys,  Jessey,  Barbone,  Fenton,  and  Highland 
were  well-known  Baptists,  and  this  apparent  ranging 
of  their  congregations,  whether  wholly  or  in  part,  on 
the  side  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party,  brings  up  the 
question  of  how  far  the  Baptist  churches  were  affected 
by  the  movement,  and  what  was  the  attitude  of  Baptists 
in  general  toward  the  Protectorate.  As  we  have  seen, 
a  large  number  of  the  members  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
party  from  its  inception  were  Baptists,  and  the  fact  that 
Feake,  Simpson,  and  Powell  belonged  to  that  commun- 
ion makes  it  easy  to  understand  that  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy agitations  in  the  early  days  of  the  Protectorate 
should  frequently  be  referred  to  as  "  Anabaptist  ".'' 

There  were  indeed,  as  we  shall  see  clearly  in  the  case 
of  the  Baptists  in  Ireland,  aspects  of  the  Protectorate 
to  which  the  Baptists  strongly  objected.  Some  of  them 
felt  that  the  very  term  Protector  was  an  impiety  if 
applied  to  any  but  the  Deity.*"  The  ceremonial  of  the 
new  court,  too,  offended  the  Baptist  ideas  of  simplicity, 
and  they  looked  with  suspicion  upon  the  steps  taken  to 
regulate  the  ministry.  Yet  a  proposal  to  protest  against 
the  government,  introduced  into  Baptist  circles  by 
Henry  Danvers,  a  Baptist  who  was  also  a  Fifth  Mon- 
archy man,  met  with  no  success.^    The  General  Bap- 

^  Apology  for  the  Present  Government  (Thomason).  John  Spittle- 
house,  in  his  Answer  to  one  part  of  the  Lord  Protector's  Speech  (Thom- 
ason), rejoins  that  there  are  the  signatures  for  all  to  see. 

^®  This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  despatches  of  Bordeaux  and  other 
foreigners. 

""  "  Oliver  Cromwell  called  Lord  Protector  when  as  God  alone  was  the 
protector  of  his  people,  but  we  sinned."  Broadmead  Records  (Hanserd 
Knollys  Soc),  43. 

»  Edmund  Chillenden  to  Cromwell,  Thurloe,  IV",  365.  Chillenden  took 
to  himself  the  credit  of  having  caused  the  failure  of  the  movement,  his 
purpose  in  this  letter  being  to  prove  his  loyalty. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  57 

tists,  at  a  meeting  of  representatives  from  all  parts  of 
England,  issued  a  formal  declaration  of  their  submis- 
sion to  the  government.  In  it  they  stated  that  the 
question  of  the  "  dueness  or  undueness  "  of  the  call  of 
persons  to  rule  did  not,  to  their  way  of  thinking,  relieve 
them  of  the  responsibility  of  peaceable  submission  to 
the  powers  in  being.  They  knew  of  no  grounds  for 
believing  that  the  saints  were  to  rule,  as  saints,  before 
the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth,  and  expected 
rather  to  suffer  patiently,  as  the  saints  hitherto  had 
done,  until  that  time.  As  honest  and  faithful  men  they 
ought  to  serve  the  government  when  called  upon  to  do 
so,  and  they  hoped  that  any  dissatisfaction  expressed 
by  individual  Baptists  would  not  be  attributed  to  the 
Baptist  churches,  or  to  the  generality  of  their  members.^ 
Three  of  the  leading  Particular  Baptist  ministers  in 
London  wrote  to  their  brethren  in  Dublin  soon  after 
the  establishment  of  the  Protectorate,  disowning  the 
ideas  held  forth  at  Blackfriars,  and  declaring  that  the 
new  government  had  saved  the  country  from  anarchy 
and  gave  promise  of  unprecedented  protection  and 
freedom  of  worship  for  the  saints.  They  begged  that 
the  Baptists  in  Ireland  would  do  nothing  to  justify 
the  prevailing  misconception  regarding  Baptist  prin- 
ciples, "  Which  is,  that  we  deny  authority,  and  would 
pull  down  all  Magistracy.  And  if  any  treble  should 
arise,  either  with  you  or  us,  in  the  nations,  which  might 
proceed  to  the  shedding  of  blood,  would  it  not  all  be 
imputed  and  charged  upon  the  baptized  churches  ?  .  .  . 
This  we  can  say,  that  we  have  not  had  any  occasion  of 
sorrow  in  this  matter  from  any  of  the  churches  in  this 

^  Confessions   of  Faith    (Hanserd   Knollys    Soc),   328,   329. 


58       BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

nation,  with  whom  we  have  communion ;  they  with  one 
heart  desiring  to  bless  God  for  their  liberty,  and  with 
all  willingness  to  be  subject  to  the  present  authority  ".'^ 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  leading  Baptists  in  England, 
while  disbelieving  on  principle  in  a  government  which 
maintained  a  church  establishment  by  means  of  tithes, 
and  exercised  a  supervision  over  its  ministry,  yet  con- 
sidered such  a  government  preferable  to  anarchy,  and 
found  it  not  inconsistent  with  their  consciences  to  rec- 
ognize it.  Some  of  them  went  further,  accepted  office 
under  it,  collected  tithes,  and  even  sat  on  the  board  of 
triers.**  They  were,  for  the  most  part,  shrewd,  prac- 
tical men,  prosperous  merchants  and  the  like,  who  real- 
ized the  practical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  sweeping 
away  established  institutions,  especially  financial  insti- 
tutions, with  a  wave  of  the  hand,  and  considered  them- 
selves justified  in  accepting,  and  even  profiting  by,  the 
existing  order,  until  Cromwell  should  see  his  way  to 
bettering  it.^  Personal  loyalty  to  Cromwell  would 
stand  for  something  with  some  of  them,  as  in  the  case 
of  Henry  Lawrence,  the  president  of  the  Council  of 
State,  and  Samuel  Richardson,  who  was  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  defenders  of  the  Protectorate. 

Such  men  would  be  able  to  influence  the  congrega- 
tions to  which  they  belonged  against  taking  up  with 
extreme  views,  but  many  less  practical  members,  while 
not  forsaking  their  communion,  would  be  irresistibly 

^  The  letter  was  signed  by  William  Kiffin,  John  Spilsbury,  and  Joseph 
Fansom,  London,  "the  20  of  the  11  mo."  [1654],  Nickolls,  :59-i6o. 

^  Jessey,  Tombes,  and  Dyke  were  triers.  A  large  number  of  Baptists 
held  livings  throughout  the  period.  A  Quaker  complains:  "The  Baptist 
sues  us  for  the  very  tithe  eggs."     Cited  by  Barclay,  204. 

**  William  Kiffin  and  Hanserd  Knollys  were  conspicuously  successful 
men  of  business.  Samuel  Moyer  is  said  to  have  had  the  greatest  financial 
reputation  of  his  time.     Glass,  Barbone  Parliament,  77. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  59 

attracted  by  such  assemblies  as  the  Monday  meetings  at 
Blackfriars.  One  of  the  boasts  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
party  was  that  association  with  it  did  not  preclude  mem- 
bership in  any  other  body  of  Christians,  and  we  have 
seen  that  a  large  number  of  its  adherents,  from  the  be- 
ginning, belonged  to  the  Baptist  communion.'" 

The  single  Baptist  church  which  signed  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  manifesto  as  a  unit  was  that  of  Dr.  Peter 
Chamberlen,  a  visionary  deeply  imbued  with  Fifth 
Monarchy  ideas.  The  other  leading  spirits  in  his 
church  were  John  More  and  John  Spittlehouse,  also 
Fifth  Monarchy  men,  and  the  French  physician  Nau- 
din,  who  in  May  was  implicated  in  a  plot  against  Crom- 
well." As  early  as  February  the  church  had  discussed 
the  question  "  Whether  we  have  a  call  from  God  to 
visit  the  L,  Pr.  ?  If  yea,  upon  what  account,  or  to  what 
end?"  The  decision  was  in  the  affirmative:  "If  we 
ought  to  tell  our  Neighbour  of  his  faults,  much  more  a 
Ruler,  because  the  goode  or  evil  of  a  K.  is  more  conse- 

™  An  example  of  the  charm  exercised  by  the  Fifth  Monarchy  preachers 
is  furnished  by  a  letter  from  an  apprentice  to  one  of  them — probably 
John  Rogers — which  was  intercepted  by  one  of  Thurloe's  agents.  His 
master  had  forbidden  him  to  go  to  hear  Powell,  Feake,  Simpson,  and 
their  associates  preach,  and  he  could  not  resign  himself  to  the  depriva- 
tion. The  master  finally  consented  to  submit  their  dispute  to  the  arbi- 
tration of  two  ministers,  Richard  Baxter  and  the  man  to  whom  the 
apprentice  was  writing.  There  is  nothing  in  Baxter's  correspondence  to 
indicate  whether  this  strangely  assorted  committee  met;  it  must  have 
been  an  interesting  interview,  if  it  did  occur,  and  one  would  know  the 
position  that  Baxter  must  have  taken,  even  if  we  did  not  possess  his 
answer  to  a  similar  request  from  an  apprentice  as  to  the  advisability  of 
going  to  hear  some  moderate  Baptist  preachers.  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  47, 
fol.  27  fl.;  Baxter  Correspondence,  IV,  fols.  229-231. 

^  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  125  if.  Naudin's  scheme  for  the  government 
had  at  least  the  value  of  simplicity.  "  After  the  protector  was  cut  off,  all 
that  were  in  command,  from  the  general  to  the  least  officer,  should  be  in 
command  but  eight  days,  and  every  one  take  their  turns."  Examination 
of  Buller,  Thurloe,  II,  352.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  whether  or 
no  any  of  Naudin's  fellow  church  members  were  in  this  plot. 


6o        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

quence."  The  prophets  testified  before  rulers,  and 
Paul  was  to  bear  the  name  of  Christ  before  kings. 
Among  the  points  set  down  for  mention  were,  the 
poor,  lawyers,  tithes,  persecution,  malignants,  taxes, 
excise.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  here  was  a  body  in  excel- 
lent mood  to  be  approached  by  the  advocates  of  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  manifesto.^ 

Two  days  after  the  appearance  of  the  manifesto, 
Cromwell  stood  in  the  Painted  Chamber  to  address  the 
first  Parliament  of  his  Protectorate.  As  he  looked  over 
the  assemblage  which  was  to  put  to  the  test  the  Instru- 
ment of  Government,  his  mind  must  have  flashed  back 
to  that  very  different  company  which  had  come  together 
at  his  bidding  fifteen  months  earlier.  Only  four  of  the 
radicals  who  had  sat  there  then  were  before  him  now. 
The  attempt  to  rule  by  a  body  of  men  chosen  for  their 
godliness  had  proved  a  failure,  and  the  other  great 
principle  of  the  Puritan  revolution — government  of  the 
people  through  their  elected  representatives — was  to 
have  its  trial.  The  new  Parliament  had  been  chosen 
while  the  defects  of  the  Little  Parliament  were  still 
fresh  in  men's  minds,  and  the  spirit  of  reaction  had 
brought  about  the  election  of  a  body  with  a  distinct 
Presbyterian  bias.^  According  to  report,  one  or  more 
Anabaptists  had  stood  for  election  in  most  of  the  con- 

38  The  records  of  this  church,  which  from  1652  to  1654  met  in  Lothbury, 
are  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Rawlinson  MSS.,  D  828.  The  account  of 
this  debate  is  on  fol.  33  a.  John  More,  as  the  result  of  a  quarrel  with 
Chamberlen,  had  withdrawn  from  the  church  in  April,  and  joined 
Knollys's  church.  It  may  have  been  his  influence  that  won  from  that 
body  the  signatures  credited  to  it  in  the  manifesto. 

"The  Dutch  ambassador  wrote  on  August  11/21,  1654,  that  two-thirds 
of  those  elected  were  Presbyterians,  "  or  at  least  such  as  do  hold  for  a 
firm  ministry,  with  goods  and  orders  in  the  churches  ".  Thurloe,  II,  538. 
See  also  Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  July  17/27,  Sept.  7/17,  P.  R.  O.  Tran- 
scripts. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  6i 

stituencies,  and  made  violent  efforts  to  win  votes,  but 
people  were  glad  to  exhibit  their  aversion  to  men  of 
that  sort  "  whom  for  their  covetous,  vexatious,  violent 
and  cruell  practices  (that  will  have  all  judgment,  no 
mercy)  they  cannot  love  ".  Some  few  had  been  suc- 
cessful, but  not  enough  to  create  a  faction,  had  they 
desired  to  do  so/" 

Cromwell,  too,  was  of  a  different  spirit.  No  one  had 
suffered  more  than  he  on  account  of  the  deadlock 
caused  by  the  impracticable  projects  which  the  enthus- 
iasts in  their  honest  zeal  had  championed.  And  since 
the  establishment  of  his  Protectorate  he  had  learned 
certain  things.  He  had  been  taught  from  the  pulpits 
of  Christ  Church  and  Blackf riars  the  force  of  absolute 
sincerity  and  unbounded  religious  ardor  linked  to  fan- 
tastic notions.  From  the  same  source  he  had  been 
shown  what  a  danger  to  a  newly-established  govern- 
ment could  be  a  few  opponents  strong  in  the  belief  that 
scripture  and  right  were  behind  their  arguments.  He 
could  foresee  nothing  but  ruin  for  the  state  if  such 
fanatics,  with  the  Levellers  and  ever-plotting  Royalists 
at  their  elbows,  should  remain  unbridled.  And  it  is  little 
wonder  that  he  had  come  to  regard  as  undesirable  "  that 
heady  way  ...  of  every  man  making  himself  a  Min- 
ister and  a  preacher  ","  and  that  these  disorders  were 
developing  in  him  the  belief  that  an  unorganized 
church,  like  an  unorganized  state,  meant  anarchy,  and 
that  a  state  church,  even  along  Presbyterian  lines,  would 
be  the  only  arrangement  that  could  bring  order  out  of 
chaos,  and  peace  out  of  discord.    In  addition,  he  knew 

<»  George   Green  to  ,    Sept.   4,   Clarendon   MSS.,   XLIX,   fol.    57; 

Ludlow,  Memoirs,  I,  S4S;  Thurloe,  II,  546,  565;  Several!  Proceedings, 
Aug.  31,  Sept.  14. 

*^  Stainer,  Speeches,  140. 


62        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

that  if  he  wished  to  gain  the  support  of  ParHament  in 
carrjnng  on  the  government  as  he  believed  it  should  be 
carried  on,  he  must  conciliate  the  strong  Presbyterian 
element.  For  this  purpose  a  castigation  of  the  errors 
of  an  extreme  Independent  faction  would  have  its  value. 
The  castigation  was  thorough.  He  spoke  bluntly  of 
"  the  mistaken  notion  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy.  A  thing 
pretending  more  spirituality  than  anything  else.  A 
notion  I  hope  we  all  honour,  wait,  and  hope  for,  that 
Jesus  Christ  will  have  a  time  to  set  up  his  reign  in  our 
hearts,  by  subduing  those  corruptions  and  lusts,  and 
evils  that  are  there,  which  reign  now  more  in  the  world 
than  I  hope  in  due  time  they  shall  do.  .  .  .  But  for  men 
to  entitle  themselves  on  this  principle,  that  they  are  the 
only  men  to  rule  kingdoms,  govern  nations,  and  give 
laws  to  people  .  .  .  truly,  they  had  need  give  clear 
manifestations  of  God's  presence  with  them,  before 
wise  men  will  receive  or  submit  to  their  conclusions. 
.  .  .  Notions  will  hurt  none  but  them  that  have  them. 
But  when  they  come  to  such  practices, — as  to  tell  us, 
that  liberty  and  property  are  not  the  badges  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ,  and  tell  us  that  instead  of  regulating 
laws,  laws  are  to  be  abrogated,  indeed  subverted,  and 
perhaps  would  bring  in  the  Judaical  law  instead  of  our 
known  laws  settled  amongst  us, — this  is  worthy  every 
magistrate's  consideration  ".^ 

**  Id.,  134  ff.  A  Baptist-Fifth  Monarchy  critic  of  Cromwell,  referring 
to  this  speech,  quoted  the  well-known  verses  (Proverbs,  xxx,  18,  19) 
bepnning:  "There  be  three  things  which  are  too  wonderful  for  me, 
yea,  four  that  I  know  not";  and  remarked  "And  if  it  were  honest  and 
lawful  to  add  to  Scripture,  one  might  put  in  a  fifth  way,  viz..  The  way 
of  a  Protector  in  his  Speeches,  and  between  them  and  his  actions,  for  no 
man  that  follows  him  there,  is  able  to  find  him  out  ".  The  Protector,  So 
called,  in  Part  Unvailed,  1655  (Thomason). 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  63 

Small  as  was  the  number  of  radicals  in  the  Parlia- 
ment thus  harangued,  the  imposition  of  the  Recognition 
made  it  much  smaller,  excluding  as  it  did  all  the  extreme 
Republicans,  and  with  them  all  who  would  conceivably 
have  favored  any  applications  made  by  the  sectaries. 
Such  an  application  had  apparently  been  contemplated. 
A  rumor  was  in  circulation  of  a  petition  which  declared 
the  present  government  far  more  arbitrary  than  that 
of  the  late  king,  and  begged  that  an  end  be  put  to  its 
tyranny.  Many  thousands  were  declared  ready  to  aid 
such  a  work  at  the  hazard  of  lives  and  estates.*^  The 
movement  apparently  originated  in  Wales,  where 
Vavasor  Powell  had  been  at  work  since  the  beginning 
of  the  year.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  had  es- 
caped thither  to  avoid  arrest.  Almost  immediately  had 
come  news  that  he  was  busily  stirring  up  sedition.  He 
was  seconded  by  Captain  John  Williams,  one  of  the 
radical  party  in  the  Little  Parliament,  who  was  already 
engaged  in  a  campaign  against  the  government,  and  a 
certain  Morris  Griffith.  These  three  went  from  place 
to  place  preaching,  and  it  was  bruited  about  that  they 
and  their  hearers  were  scouring  up  pistols  and  making 
other  martial  demonstrations.  Powell  was  indeed  so 
vehement  as  to  alienate  some  of  his  adherents,  and 
many  of  the  members  of  his  church  refused  to  sign  the 
remonstrance  he  was  preparing.  The  fact  that  the 
justices  of  the  peace  in  the  neighborhood  were  his  fel- 
low church-members,  made  it  difficult  to  have  any 
action  brought  against  him,  and  although  he  was  finally 
indicted,  nothing  came  of  it,  and  by  autumn  he  was  able 
to  promise  twenty  thousand  saints  who  would  hazard 

<»  Greene  to ,  Sept.  23,  25,  i6s4.  Clarendon  MSS.,  XLIX,  38,  39; 

Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  Sept.  14/24,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 


64       BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

their  blood  for  the  cause."  However  exaggerated  his 
estimate,  it  was  certain  that  he  had  a  following  of  some 
sort,  and  the  government  began  to  investigate  the  mat- 
ter, beginning  by  the  arrest  of  Harrison,  who,  it  was 
said,  had  promised  to  present  the  petition.  But  as  the 
alteration  in  the  character  of  Parliament  had  made  it 
impossible  that  the  petition,  if  presented,  would  lead  to 
anything.  Cromwell  invited  Harrison  to  dine  at  White- 
hall, admonished  him  in  a  friendly  way  to  give  up 
''  those  deceitful  and  slippery  ways  whose  end  is  de- 
struction ",  and  with  "  good  counsel  and  more  civility  " 
restored  him  his  liberty,  and  sent  him  back  to  the 
country." 

IMeanwhile  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  were  carrying 
on  their  campaign  in  print.  Early  in  September  John 
Spittlehouse  felt  that  he  was  inspired  of  the  Lord 
"  (In  the  absence  of  j\Ir.  Feake,  Mr.  Rogers,  etc.,  now 
prisoners  of  the  Lord  Jesus)  to  mind  our  present 
Rulers  and  Army  of  their  Persecutions  and  Apostacies, 
and  what  is  likely  to  follow  them  for  so  doing,  if  they 
repent  not "."  His  diatribe  arraigned  the  government 
for  imprisoning  the  saints ;  attacked  the  Instrument  of 
Government;  and  called  upon  the  amiy  to  give  up  its 
apostacies,  to  be  ruled  by  the  Scriptures,  and  to  set  up 
the  rule  of  King  Jesus.  The  Ohscrvator,  in  which 
]\Iarchamont  Needham  was  at  this  time  defending  the 
Protector's  policy,  published  a  response  to  this  pamph- 
let in  its  first  number,  and  from  the  pen  of  Samuel 

"H.  Williams  to  A.  Griffiths,  Jan.  20,  1653/4,  Thurloe,  II,  44;  inter- 
cepted letter,  Feb.  2,  ihid.,  64;  J.  Phillips  to  J.  Gunter,  n.  d.,  ibid.,  93; 
G.  Lloyd  to  D.  Griffith,  ult.  Feb..  and  intercepted  letter,  April  11,  ibid., 
226;  information  of  Rogers's  jailer,  Feb.  3,  1654/5,  ibid.,  Ill,  137. 

«  Greene  to ,  Sept.  25,  1654,  Clarendon  MSS.,  XLIX,  fol.  5  a. 

^  Certain  Queries  Propounded  to  the  most  serious  Consideration  of 
those  Persons  Now  in  Power,  Sept.  11  (Thomason). 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  65 

Richardson,  the  Baptist  pastor,  came  an  elaborate  de- 
fense of  the  government."  The  author  maintained  that 
Feake  and  Rogers  were  in  prison,  not  for  religion,  but 
for  meddling  with  politics.  If  the  army  had  seen  error 
in  its  declarations,  it  was  well  that  it  had  not  kept  to 
them.  As  for  tithes,  he  had  heard  that  the  Protector 
meant  to  abolish  them.  The  triers  were  a  useful  insti- 
tution. "  I  doe  from  my  heart  believe  ",  he  concluded, 
"  that  it  is  best  for  this  whole  Nation,  to  bee  content 
with  this  Government,  and  quietly  to  sit  down  under  it, 
and  to  thanke  God  that  things  are  not  worse  than  they 
are :  indeed  I  look  upon  this  Government  in  which  we 
enjoy  liberty  in  matters  of  religion,  to  be  a  blessed 
Government ;  if  the  offense  of  Tith  were  removed,  I 
believe  wee  should  in  joy  as  much  freedome  and  liberty 
under  it,  as  any  doe  under  any  Government  in  all  the 
whole  world !  "  " 

In  November  William  Aspinwall  published  a  picture 
of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  as  persons  humble,  meek, 
and  patient,  "  without  any  secret  plots  and  designes ; 
of  a  quiet  temper,  taking  meekly  loss  of  estates  and 
imprisonment ",  who  mind  not  abuse,  but  "  wait  for 
and  pray  for,  and  preach  for,  and  suffer  for  the  King- 
dome  of  Christ,  which  they  know  will  assuredly  come, 
and  is  now  at  hand,  even  at  the  doores  ".**  From  prison 
Feake  sent  forth  a  statement  of  his  personal  position. 
His  congregation  had  written  to  him  that  they  could 
not  take  steps  to  gain  him  his  freedom  without  in  so 
doing  recognizing  the  government,  which  would  be 

"  Observator,  Oct.   17-24,   1654;  An  Apology  for  the  Present  Govern- 
ment, and  Governour,  Sept.  30,  1654  (Thomason). 

"  Ibid. 

**  A    Premonition    of    sundry    sad    calamities    yet    to    come,    Nov.    30 
(Thomason). 
6 


66        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

"  a  bowing-  the  knee  to  the  image  of  the  Beast ".  He 
had  responded  that  he  himself,  in  accordance  with  God's 
commands,  "  owns  the  powers  in  being,  and  renders 
tribute  where  tribute  is  due  ".  This  statement  had  been 
interpreted  as  apostacy  to  his  former  principles,  and  he 
proceeded  to  justify  himself,  and  at  the  same  time  re- 
fute the  accusation  that  he  was  against  magistracy, 
ministry  and  government.  He  explained  that  he  must 
own,  either  the  powers  that  be,  or  anarchy,  and  that 
anarchy  was  even  worse  than  monarchy.  Passive 
obedience  should  be  rendered,  in  all  things  contrary  to 
Christ's  law,  and  punishment  for  disobedience  in  cases 
contrary  to  conscience  should  be  patiently  borne,  as  he 
was  bearing  it.  Taxes  should  be  paid,  but  no  active 
part  should  be  taken  in  the  government :  for  example, 
saints  should  not  vote  in  Parliamentary  elections.  As 
to  honoring  the  government,  he  did  so ;  he  took  off  his 
hat  to  Cromwell,  and  stood  when  in  his  presence ;  none 
the  less  was  it  his  duty  to  witness  against  him.  In 
answer  to  the  argument  that  ministers  should  not 
meddle  with  affairs  of  state,  he  cited  the  example  of  the 
eminent  divines,  John  Owen  and  Thomas  Goodwin. 
He  considered  it  one  of  the  arguments  against  the  sup- 
port of  ministers  by  the  state,  that  it  took  away  their 
freedom  to  attack  the  vices  of  the  state.^" 

Apparently  Cromwell  saw  in  this  last  utterance  of 
Feake  an  indication  that  he  had  taken  up  a  position  less 
extreme  than  his  former  one,  for  several  days  after  its 
publication  he  gave  him  a  hearing  at  Whitehall,  in  the 
presence  of  some  members  of  his  congregation.  Feake 
must  have  fulfilled  his  principle  that  beyond  passive 

^^  The  Oppressed  Close  Prisoner  in  Windsor  Castle,  his  Defiance  to  the 
Father  of  Lyes,  Dec.  19,  1654  (Thomason). 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  67 

obedience  it  was  a  minister's  duty  to  bear  testimony 
against  wickedness  in  high  places,  for  he  was  not  set  at 
liberty." 

Cromwell  sent  also  for  John  Simpson  "  to  come  and 
conferre  with  him  as  a  brother  and  a  christian,  and  to 
bring  three  or  four  of  the  Church  along  with  him  "." 
Simpson  had  been  released  from  prison  in  July,  with 
orders  not  to  preach  within  ten  miles  of  London/' 
Having  heard  that  Cromwell  had  attributed  his  obeying 
the  order  to  fear,  and  that  it  had  appeared  in  the  public 
prints  that  he  had  changed  his  principles,  he  came  up 
to  London  the  latter  part  of  December,  and  preached  at 
Allhallows  and  elsewhere,  inveighing  bitterly  against 
the  triers,  and  proclaiming  that  Christ's  kingdom  was 
at  hand.  Answering  Cromwell's  summons  he  and  his 
friends  spent  a  whole  day  at  Whitehall,  sturdily  refus- 
ing to  touch  the  Protector's  food,  and  indulging  in 
unlimited  plain  speech.  Their  principal  accusations 
were,  that  he  had  taken  away  liberty  from  the  saints 
by  instituting  the  triers,  had  broken  his  promise  to 
take  away  tithes,  and  had  failed  to  keep  his  engagement 
to  maintain  the  just  laws  of  the  land,  and  to  support 
no  government  by  a  single  person.  Cromwell  answered 
their  arguments  patiently,  but  gave  them  no  encourage- 
ment to  hope  for  a  change  in  his  policy,  and  dismissed 
them  with  an  admonition  to  sober  behavior."* 

"Newsletter,  Dec.  2Z,  1654.  Clarke  Papers,  III,  15. 

°-  Letter  from  a  member  of  Simpson's  church,  id.,  II,  xxxiv. 

'^  Gardiner  says  Simpson  broke  prison  in  December,  but  the  order  for 
his  release  is  in  the  State  Papers.  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1654,  253,  438; 
Certain  Passages  from  Every  Daics  Intelligence,  July  27.  Severall  Pro- 
ceedings, under  date  of  August  10,  spoke  of  Simpson  as  one  "who  now 
owns  and  prayes  for  the  present  Powers  ". 

"^  Intercepted  letter,  Dec.  21,  1654,  Clarke  Papers,  II,  xxxv  ff.  Gar- 
diner has  given  an  account  of  this  interview,  op.  cit.,  II,  264  ff. 


68        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

These  efforts  made  by  Cromwell  to  win  over  some  of 
the  party  leaders  were  undoubtedly  prompted  by  news 
which  came  to  him  of  renewed  activity  in  Fifth  Mon- 
archy circles,  not  only  in  London,  but  in  the  country 
also.  In  Norfolk  some  fifteen  churches  met  to  consider 
the  best  means  of  witnessing-  against  the  government, 
and  the  London  churches  talked  of  sending  messengers 
to  different  parts  of  England  and  Wales  to  ascertain 
the  spirit  of  the  people.  It  appears  that  there  was  a 
feeling  in  these  London  churches  that  the  time  was  past 
for  such  half-hearted  measures  as  had  been  advocated 
by  the  radicals  in  the  Little  Parliament.  "  Now  the 
indignation  of  the  Saints  against  Babylon  is  so  height- 
ened that  when  they  come  to  the  Lorde's  worke  againe 
no  less  will  serve  then  the  utter  eradication  of  all  what 
is  planted,  or  built  by  the  Manne  of  Sinne  .  .  .  many 
being  strongly  perswaded  that  the  Lord  looketh  for 
more  from  his  servants,  then  faith  and  prayer.  .  .  . 
My  perswasions  are  great  that  a  terrible  destruction 
will  suddainely  be  brought  upon  Babylon's  workes  and 
workmen  in  England."  A  curious  feature  of  the  atti- 
tude taken  by  some  of  these  extremists  was  that  they 
feared  Cromwell  might  make  some  concessions,  such  as 
taking  away  tithes  and  reforming  the  laws,  "  and  so 
deceive  the  minds  of  the  simple,  and  enrage  all  the 
more  against  the  non-complyers  "/° 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  large  number  of  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  shared,  at  this  period,  the  impression  that 
Cromwell  might  yield  on  some  of  the  points  which 
made  his  government  so  unpopular  with  them.  Any 
faith  they  may  have  had  in  him  had  received  its  death- 

"  Intercepted  letter,  Dec.  19,  Clarke  Papers,  II,  xxxii. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  6g 

blow  from  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  Parliament. 
And  if  they  had  retained  any  lingering  hopes  of  Par- 
liament's attitude,  the  position  it  took  with  regard  to 
church  matters  in  the  early  days  of  December  had  ef- 
fectually dispelled  them.  The  only  hope  left  to  them 
now  was  in  the  army,  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that 
from  this  time  forward  a  prominent  place  in  all  their 
pleas  was  given  to  the  argument  that  the  soldiers,  in 
supporting  the  Protectorate,  were  guilty  of  the  most 
frightful  apostasy,  since  in  the  civil  wars  they  had 
repeatedly  declared  themselves  upholders  of  the  cause 
of  Christ  and  opponents  of  government  by  a  single 
person. 

Similar  arguments  had  already  been  brought  into 
play  by  a  purely  political  party,  the  Levellers.  The 
principles  of  the  Levellers  and  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
men  were,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out,  diametrically 
opposed.  Yet  there  were  certain  points  where  they 
could  meet  on  common  ground.  Both  parties  believed 
in  absolute  liberty  of  conscience.  Both  found  much  to 
criticize  in  the  existing  legal  system.  The  arguments 
of  the  Levellers  against  the  imprisonment  of  John  Lil- 
burne  applied  with  equal  force  to  that  of  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  preachers.  Finally,  both  parties  were  unani- 
mous, although  on  differing  grounds,  in  their  opposi- 
tion to  Cromwell's  assumption  of  power.  It  is,  there- 
fore, not  at  all  strange  that  we  find  Fifth  Monarchy 
pamphleteers  borrowing  arguments  from  the  Levellers, 
and  Levellers  utilizing  Fifth  Monarchy  men  for  carry- 
ing on  their  agitations. 

The  connection  between  Levellers  and  Baptists  was 
of  a  different  sort.  The  only  Levelling  principles  for 
which  any  organization  of  Baptists  would  have  stood 


70        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

sponsor,  as  Baptists,  were  those  of  liberty  of  conscience 
and  separation  of  church  and  state.  Yet  the  poHtical 
theories  of  the  Levellers  had  been  developed  in  the 
favorable  atmosphere  of  the  gathered  churches,  and  a 
large  number  of  their  most  prominent  members  were 
Baptists.  There  is,  however,  no  reason  for  believing 
that  any  Baptist  organization  ever  lent  itself  to  the 
designs  of  the  Levellers.  But  when  a  number  of  Bap- 
tists were  named  in  connection  with  any  Levellers' 
project  it  was  promptly  considered  Anabaptist,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  theory  that  the  Baptist  ranks  were 
honeycombed  with  John  of  Leyden  principles. 

Such  a  project  was  the  one  which  came  to  a  head  in 
the  fall  of  1654.  Three  Baptist  colonels,  Alured, 
Saunders,  and  Okey,  the  first  of  whom  had  been  re- 
called from  Ireland  in  the  spring  for  speaking  against 
Cromwell,  began  in  September  to  attend  meetings  held 
by  the  Levellers  Wildman  and  Sexby.  Sexby  is  said 
to  have  been  a  Baptist,  and  other  Baptists  present  at 
some  of  the  meetings  were  Vice-admiral  Lawson  and 
Cblonel  Hierome  Sankey.  Robert  Overton,  too,  had 
met  with  Wildman  in  the  spring,  and  expressed  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  government.  At  the  same  time  he 
had  also  declared  his  scruples  to  Cromwell,  but  had 
promised  that  if  the  time  ever  came  when  he  could  not 
conscientiously  serve  the  government,  he  would  inform 
him."'  The  immediate  result  of  these  meetings  was  the 
famous  declaration  of  the  three  colonels,  in  tone  a 
Levellers'  manifesto,  but  signed  by  Saunders,  Okey, 
and  Alured,   and  therefore  promptly  stigmatized  as 

^Examination   of   Colonel   Alured,    Rawlinson   MSS.,   A  41,   fol.    560; 

Overton  to  ,  Jan.   17,   1654/5,  Thurloe,  III,  iioff;  Thurloe's  notes, 

Gardiner,  op.  cit..  Ill,  228,  note  3. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  71 

Anabaptist."  The  paper  was  prepared  for  circulation 
among-  the  officers,  but  was  seized  in  Alured's  rooms 
before  any  other  signatures  could  be  obtained.  The 
three  colonels  lost  their  commissions,  and  Alured, 
against  whom  there  were  other  charges,  was  committed 
to  prison.  Almost  simultaneously  with  the  petition  of 
the  three  colonels  appeared  one  from  the  seamen  of 
Penn's  fleet.  While  it  asked  for  the  redress  of  un- 
doubted grievances,  it  also  referred  to  the  army's 
declarations,  and  to  the  liberties  of  the  free  born  people 
of  England,  in  language  highly  reminiscent  of  the  Level- 
lers. The  Baptists  were  exceedingly  numerous  in  the 
fleet,  and  Gardiner  thinks  it  probable  that  the  petition 
was  drafted  by  the  most  prominent  of  them,  Lawson."' 
The  prompt  dealing  with  these  two  petitions  put  an 
end  for  the  time  to  the  Levellers'  plans  for  England,  but 
their  negotiations  with  the  army  in  Scotland  went  much 
farther.""  How  far  they  made  known  to  their  Baptist 
allies  their  plans,  which  were  to  seize  General  Monck 
and  force  Overton  to  take  command,  is  not  known. 
Probably  they  did  not  reveal  the  real  nature  of  the 
design.  Two  Baptists  who  were  active  in  gathering 
volunteers  for  the  plot.  Major  John  Bramston  and 
Samuel  Oates,  chaplain  of  Pride's  regiment,  declared, 
both  publicly  and  in  private  letters  to  friends,  that 
nothing  more  was  intended  than  a  remonstrance  to  be 
presented  to  the  government  through  Monck,  and  even 
the  most  careful  examination  has  failed  to  reveal  that 

"  The  Humble  Petition  of  several  Colonels  of  the  Army,  Oct.  18,  1654 
(Thomason). 

»»  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  214  ff. 

"^  Word  was  brought  of  a  general  movement  in  England,  and  Colonel 
Eyre,  a  Baptist,  was  arrested  on  susupicion  of  connection  with  it,  but 
the  details  did  not  become  known.     See  Gardiner,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  226. 


72        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Overton  knew  more  than  the  fact  that  such  a  paper 
was  in  circulation  among  the  officers.*"  However,  as 
Gardiner  points  out,  it  was  dangerous  to  have  a  man  of 
his  views  in  the  important  position  which  he  held  as 
governor  of  Hull."  He  was  arrested  and  committed  to 
the  Tower,  and  the  occasion  was  seized  to  rid  the 
army  "  of  persons  of  those  principles,  viz.  Levellers 
and  Annabaptists  "."^ 

The  papers  found  in  the  possession  of  Oates  and 
Bramston  on  their  arrest  for  participation  in  the  plot, 
afford  some  insight  into  the  mental  processes  of  these 
opponents  of  the  govermnent.  Oates's  papers  were 
largely  miscellaneous  jottings  very  obviously  inspired 
in  good  measure  by  a  Levelling  production  that  had 
appeared  some  months  earlier."  He  recognized,  how- 
ever, some  good  things  in  Cromwell's  administration. 
"  How  hard  a  thing  it  wil  bee  ",  he  reflected,  "  for  the 
people  of  God  to  oppose  the  Lord  Protector  in  any- 
thing, seeing  hee  hath  bin  soe  great  an  Instrument  in 
many  things  for  their  good.  And  all  the  great  things 
which  the  people  of  God  have  had  don  for  them  have 
been  don  by  him."  With  regard  to  civil  war,  he  re- 
solved :  "  First  not  to  have  a  tongue  moveing  or  a  hand 
wageing  in  another.  Rather  myselfe  bee  in  bondage 
or  dye  .  .  .  2ndly,  Not  to  omitt  in  a  Christian  passive 
way  to  offer  something  to  the  present  power  if  they 

^  Gates   to    Parkinson,    Dec.    2,    1654,    Nickolls,    132;    same    to    , 

Firth,  Scotland  and  the  Protectorate,  241;  Hedworth  et  al.  to  Holmes, 
Dec.  18,  Thurloe,  III,  29-30;  Whalley  to  Cromwell,  March  8,  1654/5, 
ibid.,  205-206;  cf.  Gardiner,  III,  228. 

"  Gardiner,  III,  228  ff. 

*^  Thurloe  to  Pell,  Jan.  26,   1654/5,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  751,  fol.  254. 

^  Some  Mementos  for  the  Officers  and  Souhlicrs  of  the  Army,  Oct. 
19,  1654  (Thomason). 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  7Z 

call  for  me  to  endeavour  my  satisfaction  or  to  give 
an  accompt  of  my  dissatisfaction  "." 

Major  Bramston  was  more  sweeping  in  his  condem- 
nation. Among  his  papers  was  a  set  of  eight  argu- 
ments by  Paul  Hobson,  an  officer  and  a  prominent 
Baptist  preacher,  intended  to  prove  that  all  church 
members  who  signed  loyal  addresses  to  the  Protector 
ought,  for  so  doing,  to  be  excommunicated.""  The  idea 
appealed  to  Bramston,  and  as  Hobson's  arguments  were 
addressed  primarily  to  soldiers,  he  drew  up  another  set, 
of  eighteen  instead  of  eight,  applying  to  all  saints. 
Both  productions  bristle  with  citations  from  Scripture, 
and  contain  the  arguments  made  familiar  by  the  petition 
of  the  three  colonels,  that  the  people  of  God  had  broken 
their  covenants,  built  again  that  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed, and  thus  brought  discredit  on  themselves.*' 

It  is  probable  that  Bramston  intended  to  enclose  his 
"  Reasons  "  in  a  letter  he  had  written  to  the  members 
of  one  of  the  Baptist  churches  in  London,  with  whom, 
not  having  heard  from  them  anything  "tending  to  the 
awakening  of  Zion  ",  he  felt  compelled  to  remonstrate. 
He  upbraided  them  for  being  at  peace  with  the  gov- 
ernment, and  for  justifying  "  all  that  wickednes  and 
treason  trut[h]  and  Covenant  breaking  which  hath 
of  Late  been  acted  by  many  of  us  who  are  your 
bretheren  ".  Then  he  demanded :  "  Have  you  not — 
nay,  doe  you  not — condem  those  just  men  as  bisey 
bodey  and  such  as  sufer  as  evle  doers,  who  are  now  in 

«*  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  34,  fol.  49  ff.  The  paper  is  undated,  but  there 
is  a  copy  among  the  Clarke  MSS.,  among  other  copies  of  the  papers 
found  on  the  prisoners. 

85  Copy  among  the  Clarke  MSS. 

8«  Add.  MSS.,  4159,  fol.  19s  £f.  See  also  Bramston's  examination. 
Firth,  Scotland  and  the  Protectorate,  241-242. 


74        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

bonds  for  the  testemony  of  a  good  coiiscienc  ;  have  you 
forg-ot  sine  you  your  selves  were  called  factius,  and 
such  as  wear  the  disturbers  and  troublers  of  Israll  .  .  . 
have  you  so  soon  forgoten  your  old  resalutions  which 
was  that  you  would  have  no  King  but  Jesus  .  .  .  o 
is  it  not  a  sad  thing  that  you  who  have  soe  much  ab- 
hored  the  Court  prid  and  vanety  shold  now  becom 
fawners  and  flaterers  there  as  som  of  you  are  .  .  . 
have  not  I  heard  and  seen  you  deny  to  pray  for  saints 
that  ware  in  prison  becaus  they  did  contend  with  the 
corupt  pourz  of  the  Earth?  .  .  .  the  day  of  the  Lord 
is  coming,  it  is  ny  att  hand,  and  if  judgment  begin  at 
the  Hous  of  God  wher  shall  the  ungodly  and  siners 
apeare  ?  "  " 

According  to  the  principles  of  Hobson  and  Bramston, 
the  entire  Baptist  churches  of  Leith,  Edinburgh,  and 
St.  Johnstons  ought  to  have  been  declared  excommuni- 
cate, for  they  promptly  issued  a  loyal  address  to  the 
Protector  disclaiming  any  part  in  the  plot  that  had 
come  to  light.  They  declared  that  they  owned  and 
prayed  for  the  government,  and  regretted  having  fallen 
under  suspicion  of  participation  in  the  recent  plot, 
"  through  the  defect  of  one ;  we  knoweing  noe  more 
under  suspition  of  guilt  (in  this  matter)  of  our 
Society  ".^ 

This  address  appeared  in  the  public  prints,  and  ef- 
forts were  made  to  create  the  impression  that  it  repre- 
sented the  position  taken  by  all  moderate  Baptists.'" 

'^  For  the  Church  of  Christ  Assembled  at  the  Glas  House  in  broad 
street,  London,  25  of  the  10  moneth  [1654],  Add.  MSS.,  4459,  fol.  145  flF. 

^  The  Humble  Address  of  the  Baptised  Churches,  consisting  of  oihcers, 
soldiers  and  others,  walking  in  gospell  order  at  Leith,  Edinburgh  and 
St.  Johnstoun,  Clarke  MSS.,  27,  fol.  133.  See  Firth,  Scotland  and  the 
Protectorate,  242. 

""  Mercuritts  Politictis,  Feb.  8-15,  1654/5. 


PROTECTOR  AND  SAINTS  75 

Such  expressions  of  loyalty  were  very  valuable  to 
Cromwell  at  a  moment  when  Levellers,  Common- 
wealth's men,  and  Royalists  were  all  directing  attacks 
upon  him,  and  his  Parliament  was  persistently  refusing 
to  come  to  any  agreement  which  would  put  into  his 
hands  the  power  he  needed  in  order  to  deal  with  them. 
It  was  over  the  question  of  control  of  the  army  that 
the  deadlock  finally  came,  and  when  he  seized  the 
earliest  possible  moment  allowed  by  the  Instrument  of 
Government  for  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  he  per- 
formed an  act  which  surely  should  have  won  him  the 
approval  of  the  army,  towards  which  its  policy  had 
been  in  the  highest  degree  irritating,  and  of  the  sec- 
taries, who  had  been  given  no  reason  to  hope  that  it 
would  ever  be  willing  to  assure  to  them  what  was  their 
breath  of  life — liberty  of  conscience. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Saints  in  Prison  and  out  of  Prison. 

Cromwell's  championship  against  Parliament  of  the 
cause  of  liberty  of  conscience  did  not  lack  its  reward. 
"  Many,  very  many  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  ",  wrote 
Thurloe  to  Monck,  "  as  well  those  under  baptisme  as 
others  in  Scotland  and  England,  have  acknowledged  the 
Government  in  writeing  under  theire  hands  since  the 
disolution  of  the  Parliament."  ^ 

One  of  the  Baptist  addresses  has  come  down  to  us.  It 
is  entitled  The  Representation  and  petition  of  Christ's 
servants,  and  your  Highnesse  loyal  subjects,  walking  in 
the  profession  of  faith  and  baptisme  in  Northumber- 
land, Yorkshire,  and  Darbieshire.  Disowning  any  part 
in  the  agitations  against  the  government,  these  Baptists 
speak  of  the  present  "  halcyon  daies  of  peace,  plenty 
and  liberty  ",  salute  the  Protector  and  his  Council  as  the 
"  happie  powers  ordained  of  God ",  and  rejoice  in 
"  that  excellent  instrument,  the  Saints  Magna  Charta, 
for  the  government  of  this  Commonwealth,  wherein 
such  blessed  provision  is  made  for  the  tender  Lambs 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  seconded  by  the  late  affectionate 
fatherly  breathings  of  your  Highnesse,  at  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  last  Parliament  ". ' 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  see  in  this  nothing  more  than 
spontaneous  enthusiasm  for  the  rule  of  Cromwell,  and 

^  Clarke  Papers,  II,  245.     See  also  Bordeaux  to  Brienne  and  Mazarin, 
Jan.  23/Feb.  4,  Feb.  8/18,  1654/5,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 
^February  11,  1655,  Nickolls,  134. 

76 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  77 

for  the  excellences  of  the  Instrument  of  Government. 
But,  though  the  address  is  undoubtedly  sincere,  it  is 
impossible  to  avoid  ascribing  some  of  its  fervor  to 
odium  theologicum.  In  the  middle  of  the  paper  occur 
the  words :  "  Let  such  as  are  infatuated  with  Atheism, 
and  poysoned  with  the  dregges  of  Arminius,  cry  up  a 
self-advancing  power  in  Creatures,  whiles  we  adore  the 
Prince  of  the  earth,  who  giveth  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  to  whomsoever  he  pleaseth."  Now  Thomas  Til- 
lam  and  the  Hexham  church,  who  head  the  list  of  sig- 
natories, were  at  this  time  engaged  in  a  fierce  dispute 
with  the  Baptists  of  Newcastle  over  points  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  latter  which  Tillam  and  his  followers  con- 
sidered strongly  Arminian/  Paul  Hobson  was  the 
champion  of  the  Newcastle  church,  and  that  church 
had,  less  than  a  fortnight  before  the  appearance  of  the 
address  from  which  we  quote,  been  holding  a  meeting 
with  churches  of  the  neighborhood  to  take  into  consid- 
eration Hobson's  "  8  diabolical  reasons  "  why  all  who 
subscribed  loyal  addresses  to  the  Protector  should  be 
declared  beyond  the  pale  of  the  church.  Most  radical 
views  had  been  expressed,  and  the  dissentients  had 
decided  to  publish  something  to  clear  themselves  of 
blame.*  Presumably  this  was  the  address  we  have  been 
considering ;  at  any  rate  its  publication  at  this  time  could 
not  have  been  unconnected  with  the  action  of  Hobson's 
supporters,  and  it  cannot  be  considered  an  indication  of 
unanimous  approval  of  the  government  among  the  Bap- 
tists of  the  northern  counties. 

While  Paul  Hobson  was  the  center  of  Baptist  dis- 
content  in   the   north   of  England,   Adjutant-general 

*  Hexham  Records  (Hanserd  Knollys  Soc). 

*  Topping  to  Thurloe,  Feb.  5,   1654/5,  Thurloe,  III,  138. 


78        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

William  Allen  was  suspected  of  playing  a  similar  part 
in  the  south.  Recalled  from  his  post  in  Ireland  on 
account  of  speeches  against  the  Protectorate,  he  had 
received  some  good  advice  from  Cromwell,  and  had 
retired  to  his  father-in-law's  house  near  Exeter, 
resolved  "  to  bee  silent,  to  wait,  and  se  what  God  would 
bring  forth "/  Apparently  silence  was  beyond  his 
powers.  Word  came  to  Cromwell  that  his  disaffection 
was  a  matter  of  common  report,  and  that  his  activities 
were  especially  noticeable  among  the  Baptist  churches 
of  the  neighborhood,  whose  meetings  he  was  attending 
"  disguised  with  kind  of  vizard  ".*  The  presence  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Hugh  Courtney,  who  also  was 
criticizing  the  Protectorate,  increased  the  suspicion  of 
the  government  agents.  Cromwell  sent  friendly  mes- 
sages to  the  Baptist  church  at  Exeter,  which  returned 
a  prompt  and  loyal  response,  so  it  was  evident  that  the 
dissatisfaction  there  had  not  proceeded  far.  Allen  was 
probably  quite  truthful  in  his  protestation  that  he  dared 
not  lift  a  hand  against  the  government,  or  advise  such 
a  course.  But  he  had  indulged  in  free  criticism,  and 
Cromwell  judged  it  expedient  that  he  be  laid  under  re- 
straint.'' 

Cromwell's  position  with  regard  to  these  enthusiasts 
was  an  exceedingly  difficult  one.  There  was  undoubt- 
edly a  good  deal  in  the  contention  of  Fleetwood  that  to 
put  men  like  Allen  in  prison  was  likely  to  have  worse 
effects  in  inflaming  public  opinion  than  their  agitations 
would  have  were  they  ignored.*    Yet  he  could  scarcely 

^  Allen  to  Cromwell,  Feb.  7,  1654/5,  ibid.,  140-141;  same  to  Axtell  and 
Carteret,  same  date,  ibid.,  141. 

*  Unton  Croke  to  Cromwell,  Feb.  7,  ibid,,  143. 

'  Id.,  and  report  of  Coplestone  and  Croke,  ibid.,  140;  Allen  to  Crom- 
well, ibid.;  Cromwell  to  Croke,  Jan.  2,  Letters  and  Speeches,  II,  400. 

*  Fleetwood  to  Thurloe,  March  14,  1654/s,  Thurloe,  III,  246. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  79 

avoid  doing  as  he  had  done,  especially  at  this  juncture, 
when  plots  and  rumors  of  plots  were  the  order  of  the 
day.  Levellers  and  Cavaliers  had  their  uprisings 
planned,  and  the  government  had  infonnation  of  a 
rumored  Fifth  Monarchy  plot  which  was  about  to 
come  to  a  head." 

However,  when  opportunity  offered,  Cromwell 
spared  no  efforts  to  make  it  clear  that  he  was  not  keep- 
ing men  in  prison  without  cause.  The  members  of 
John  Rogers's  congregation  resolved,  after  several  days 
and  nights  of  prayer,  that  it  was  their  duty  to  go  to 
Whitehall  "  and  demand  the  Lord's  prisoners  and  bear 
their  testimony  against  those  in  present  powers  ".  They 
thereupon  chose  by  lot  twelve  members  of  the  congre- 
gation— because  twelve  was  "  the  Lord's  number 
against  the  Beast,  and  the  root  and  square  number  of  the 
hundred,  forty- four  thousand  in  Rev.  xiv ".  The 
twelve,  each  with  a  Bible  in  his  hand,  presented  them- 
selves at  Whitehall  with  a  message  addressed,  without 
any  titles,  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  The  message  stated 
that  "  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  and  of  that  whole 
society  who  have  entrusted  us  on  this  errand,  we  are  to 
DEMAND  the  Lord's  prisoners  .  .  .  whom  ye  have  so 
unchristianly  rent  and  torn  from  us  .  .  .  and  neither 
we  nor  they  know  for  what  to  this  day,  but  we  are 
persuaded  it  is  for  their  Faith  and  Conscience  in  the 
Truth  and  Testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,  against  the  foul 
apostacies  and  sins  of  the  times  ".  Cromwell  very  nat- 
urally objected  to  the  peremptory  tone  of  the  applica- 
tion, and  said  that  Feake  and  Rogers  were  in  prison, 
not  for  conscience'  sake,  but  as  "  evil  doers  and  busie 

*  Examination  of  Ellen  Aske,  Feb.  17,  ibid.,  160. 


8o        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

bodies  in  other  mens  matters  ".    He  promised,  however, 
to  give  Rogers  a  hearing  in  their  presence." 

For  our  knowledge  of  this  interview  with  Rogers  we 
are  chiefly  dependent  upon  an  account  written  from 
notes  taken  at  the  time  by  one  of  the  twelve,  and  pub- 
lished to  confute  the  report  that  their  leader  "  stood 
confounded  ".  Spite  of  the  partisan  bias  of  the  whole, 
a  great  deal  of  it  bears  the  impress  of  a  verbatim  ac- 
count, and  gives  an  extremely  vivid  notion  of  what  must 
have  been  an  extraordinary  conversation."^  Rogers 
began  by  taking  the  position  that  he  would  answer  no 
questions  except  in  open  court,  at  a  legal  trial.  This 
demand  for  a  legal  trial  was  the  strong  feature  of  his 
position,  and  the  only  answer  which  Cromwell  had  for 
it  was  that  he  was  kept  from  trial  through  kindness, 
as,  if  tried,  he  would  be  put  to  death  under  the  treason 
ordinance.  When  confronted  with  reports  of  his  utter- 
ances from  the  pulpit  and  in  prison,  taken  down  by 
government  spies,  he  challenged  the  wording  here  and 
there,  but  admitted  that  the  matter  was  substantially 
correct.  He  proclaimed  his  readiness  to  defend  his 
words,  and  "to  side  with  just  principles",  whether 
"  praedicando,  precando,  or  praeliando  ".  At  this  Sir 
Gilbert  Pickering,  alive  to  the  question  of  Rogers's 
readiness  to  take  arms,  inquired,  "  Said  you  not 
'praeliando '?"  "  Yes  ",  was  Rogers's  response,  "  in  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  for  the  case  was  never  so  clear  as 
now  it  is.  .  .  .  For  the  controversy  ...  is  now  be- 

^^  The  FaithfuU  Narrative  of  the  Late  Testimony  and  Demand  made  to 
Oliver  Cromwel,  and  his  Powers,  on  the  Behalf  of  the  Lords  Prisoners, 
March  21,  1654/s  (Thomason),  reprinted  in  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy 
Man,  17s  ff. 

"■  The  official  account,  a  brief  one,  was  given  in  the  Weekly  Intelli- 
gencer, Jan.  6-Feb.  13,  1654/5. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  8i 

tween  Christ  and  you,  my  Lord,  Christ's  government 
and  yours ;  and  which  of  these  two  are  the  higher 
Powers  for  us  to  side  with  and  be  obedient  unto, 
judge  ye."  Thereat  Cromwell  exclaimed :  "  Ha !  who 
denies  the  case  to  be  clearer  now  ?  But  I  heard  indeed 
it  is  some  of  your  principles  to  be  at  it.  Why,  you 
long  to  be  at  it — you  want  but  an  opportunity." 
Rogers's  rejoinder  was :  "  The  Remnant  of  the 
Woman's  seed  must  be  at  it  when  they  have  the  call." 
Continuing,  he  launched  into  a  discourse  upon  the 
Beast's  dominion.  Cromwell  impatiently  said  that  he 
knew  nothing  of  such  matters.  On  the  subject  of 
triers,  tithes  and  the  national  ministry  he  endeavored 
to  make  Rogers  understand  his  point  of  view,  but 
failed  to  cope  with  the  accusation  that  his  government 
depended  upon  "  the  long  sword  ". 

Among  the  members  of  the  court  party  who  were 
present  was  William  Kiffin,  who  exhibited  some  hos- 
tility to  Rogers.  Rogers's  supporters  said  that  Crom- 
well, in  making  the  statement  that  his  duty  was  to  keep 
the  peace,  pointed  to  Kiffin,  and  said  that  "  there  were 
Anabaptists  who  would  cut  the  throats  of  those  not  of 
their  forms  ",  as  would  Presbyterians  and  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men.  Rogers  replied  to  this  that  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy principle  was  of  such  a  latitude  that  it  took  in  all 
saints,  without  regard  to  the  form  of  religion  which 
they  professed.  It  was  very  evident  that  there  was  no 
possibility  of  converting  this  skilful  disputant,  and  he 
was  sent  back  to  prison. 

As  he  was  being  conducted  across  the  palace  yard,  he 
met  Harrison,  Rich,  Carew,  Courtney,  and  others,  who 
were  coming  as  delegates  from  another  congregation 
to   demand   the   release  of   the   "  Lord's   prisoners ". 


82        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Cromwell  told  this  delegation,  made  up  of  men  as  well 
known  as  the  others  had  been  obscure,  that  there  was 
no  one  in  England  in  prison  on  the  Lord's  account, 
that  Feake  and  Rogers  had  been  arrested  for  speaking 
against  the  government  and  for  inciting  people  to 
arms.  It  was  by  this  time  late  in  the  day,  and  Crom- 
well, who  must  have  had  enough  of  argument  by  that 
time,  asked  them  to  come  to  him  at  a  more  convenient 
season.  He  sent  for  them  on  three  different  occasions, 
but  they  failed  to  appear.  Thereupon,  having  had  in- 
formation that  the  four  named  were  endeavoring  to 
stir  up  a  revolt,  he  had  them  taken  into  custody.  He 
gave  them  a  hearing  in  the  presence  of  a  number  of 
people,  clergymen  and  others,  among  whom  were  two 
Baptists :  Cradock,  a  Welsh  minister,  and  Recorder 
Steele.  At  the  request  of  the  prisoners  he  invited  also 
Simpson,  a  certain  Banks,  and  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
preacher,  John  Pendarvis  of  Abingdon.  The  prisoners 
explained  that  their  reason  for  not  obeying  his  sum- 
mons was  that  doing  so  would  have  implied  a  recog- 
nition of  the  government,  which  they  considered  Anti- 
christian  and  Babylonish.  Carew  said  that  when  the 
Little  Parliament  was  dissolved  Cromwell  "  tooke  the 
Crowne  off  from  the  heade  of  Christ,  and  put  it  upon 
his  owne  "."     They  objected  to  parliaments  on  the 

'^  Carew,  when  about  to  be  executed  as  a  regicide,  gave  the  following 
testimony  of  his  faith,  from  the  scaffold:  "There  are  many  things  laid 
upon  many  of  those  that  profess  the  Kingdome  and  glorious  appearance 
of  Jesus  Christ,  as  if  they  were  enemies  to  Magistracy  and  Ministery,  and 
as  if  so  be  we  were  for  the  destruction  of  the  laws  and  properties  of 
mankind;  therefore  shall  I  speak  a  few  words  unto  that.  And  if  indeed 
we  were  such,  we  were  fit  to  be  turned  out  of  the  world.  .  .  .  There  is 
no  such  thing;  I  desire  to  bear  witness  to  the  true  Magistracy,  that 
Magistracy  that  is  in  the  Word  of  the  Lord.  And  that  true  Ministery 
.  .  .  that  .  .  .  hath  his  holy  Spirit.  That  testimony  I  desire  to  bear, 
and  that  testimony  I  desire  to  stand  faithfull  in,  with  integrity  to  the 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  83 

ground  that  power  belonged  to  Christ  and  not  to  the 
people,  and  they  refused  to  promise  to  live  peaceably. 
All  four  were  thereupon  committed  to  prison.  Crom- 
well took  pains  to  make  clear  the  grounds  of  their  im- 
prisonment :  that  it  was  not  alone  for  contempt  of  the 
government,  but  for  special  offenses  in  each  case. 
Harrison  was  charged  with  countenancing  opposition 
to  the  government  and  maintaining  the  lawfulness  of 
taking  arms  against  it ;  Carew,  with  the  same  offenses, 
and  with  having  endeavored  to  seduce  some  important 
officials  from  their  trusts  ;  Rich,  with  having  interfered 
with  the  raising  of  the  tax ;  and  Courtney  with  having 
fomented  sedition  in  Norfolk  and  different  parts  of  the 
west  country.  None  of  them  had  any  response  to  make 
to  these  charges.  Harrison  was  sent  to  Portland, 
whence  he  was  later  transferred  to  the  Isle  of  Wight ; 
Carew  to  Pendennis  Castle  in  Cornwall ;  and  Courtney 
to  Carisbrooke  Castle.  Rich  was  allowed  his  liberty  for 
a  time,  because  his  wife  was  dying,  but  he  was  later 
sent  to  Windsor." 

In  commenting  on  their  imprisonment  the  Scout  said : 
"  'Tis  very  observable,  that  at  several  meetings  at  their 
respective  churches,  sundry  times  they  declared,  That 
although  the  Constitution  of  this  present  government 
was  both  ratified  and  confirmed,  contrary  to  what  they 
formerly  expected,  yet  they  would  not  lift  up  a  hand 
against  the  Lord  Protector,  to  pull  him  out,  but  by 

Lord  Jesus,  as  King  of  Saints,  and  King  of  Nations.  And  therefore  it 
is,  I  say,  to  have  a  Magistracy  as  the  first,  and  counsellors  as  at  the 
beginning,  men  fearing  God,  and  hating  covetousness.  And  that  Min- 
istry as  doth  preach  the  everlasting  gospel."  The  Speeches  and  Prayers 
of  some  of  the  late  King's  Judges,  1660. 

^  Faithfull  Narrative;  Thurloe  to  Monck,  n.  d.,  Clarke  Papers,  II, 
242  ff.;  Newsletter,  Feb.  24,  1654/5,  id..  Ill,  23;  Ralph  Josselin's  Diary 
(Camden  Soc,  Publications,  3d.  ser.,  XV),  109,  no. 


84        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

their  Spiritual  Weapon  of  Jesus  Christ  they  doubted  not 
but  to  pray  him  out."  "  Probably  the  friendly  Scout 
and  the  unfriendly  Thurloe,  who  reported  that  they 
maintained  the  right  to  take  arms  against  the  govern- 
ment, were  both  correct.  Their  position  was  that  while 
opposition  to  tyranny  was  lawful,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
saints  to  endure  the  existing  order  until  they  received  a 
definite  call  from  God ;  that  untimely  action  would 
hinder,  instead  of  hasten,  the  promised  kingdom.  They 
could  not  promise  to  abstain  from  opposition,  for  the 
call  might  come  at  any  time,  and  meanwhile  they  must 
bear  witness. 

If  any  people  in  England  heartily  wished  for  the 
release  of  the  "  Lord's  prisoners  ",  it  was  those  who 
had  them  in  custody.  Rogers  early  in  the  year  had  com- 
plained of  the  treatment  he  was  undergoing  at  Lam- 
beth, and  his  jailer  responded  with  an  account  of  how 
he  was  encouraging  his  party,  "  a  handfull  of  Scum, 
the  very  raf  of  Billingsgate,  Redriffe,  Ratliffe,  Wappen, 
etc.",  as  he  characterized  them ;  telling  them  that  they 
would  soon  possess  the  government,  "  that  the  Anti- 
christ, the  Babilon,  the  greate  dragon,  or  the  man  of 
Sin,  Oliver  Cromwell,  at  Whitehall,  must  be  puld 
down  ".  One  of  them,  preaching  in  Rogers's  chamber, 
had  said  "  that  wee  did  not  live  in  an  age  to  expect  mir- 
acles ;  that  Babilon  cannot  be  destroyed,  nor  the  sainte 
at  Windsor  bee  released  by  only  faith  and  prayer ;  but 
you  must  bee  of  good  courage,  and  make  use  of  mate- 
riall  instruments,  and  proceed  by  force  "." 

Some  of  Rogers's  visitors,  the  jailer's  epithets  to  the 
contrary,  were  persons  of  quality  and  standing.    The 

^*  Scout,  Feb.  23-March  2,  1654/5. 

"Thurloe,  III,   136,  486-487;  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  201. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  85 

report  of  their  numbers,  together  with  Rogers's  un- 
quiet behavior,  and  the  request  of  those  who  were 
responsible  for  him  that  he  be  either  released  or  sent 
to  some  other  prison,  led  to  his  being  transferred  to 
Windsor  Castle  in  March."  Here  Feake  was  already 
causing  trouble  to  the  governor,  praying  for  the  throw- 
ing down  of  "  the  three  grand  tyrants  of  the  Nation, 
the  Army,  the  Law,  and  the  Clergy  ",  calling  Crom- 
well by  no  terms  more  polite  than  "  Apostate,  Covenant 
breaker,  Jugler,  Traitor,  Usurper,  Tyrant,  and  Per- 
secuter ",  and  teaching  his  little  son  to  sing  "  The 
Protector  is  a  foole  ",  and  "  The  Protector  shall  goe 
downe  forty  times  together  ".  When  Rogers  arrived, 
the  poor  governor  was  between  the  two  driven  quite 
to  his  wits'  end.  For  a  time  the  violence  of  their 
preaching  led  to  their  being  closely  confined,  without 
the  solace  of  each  other's  society,  or  that  of  the  friends 
who  came  down  from  London  to  see  them.  Later, 
through  representations  made  by  the  latter,  an  order 
of  the  Council  directed  that  they  have  the  freedom  of 
the  castle.  They  had  been  forbidden  to  preach  in  pub- 
lic, but  on  the  following  Sunday  they  strayed  into  the 
chapel  at  service  time,  when  part  of  the  congregation 
had  assembled.  Feake,  entering  the  pulpit,  began  to 
pray.  Rogers  took  up  his  position  on  the  pulpit  stairs, 
and  when  the  regular  minister  entered,  refused  to  make 
way  for  him.  The  governor,  coming  in  with  the  gar- 
rison, bade  the  two  come  down  and  return  to  their 
chambers.  They  refused,  saying  that  if  they  were  to 
go  they  would  have  to  be  dragged,  like  Paul  and  Silas. 
The  governor  ordered  some  soldiers  to  put  them  out, 
and  they  had  the  opportunity  of  emulating  those  scrip- 

"  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1655,  March  30. 


86        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

tural  personages  to  their  hearts'  content.  Feake  dung 
to  the  pulpit  until  it  cracked  with  the  strain.  Rogers, 
having  been  ejected  from  the  chapel,  took  up  his  stand 
on  a  stairway  and  began  to  pray  in  a  loud  voice.  When 
efforts  were  made  to  dislodge  him  he  grasped  one  of 
the  stones  in  the  wall,  and  maintained  his  hold  until 
it  was  pulled  from  the  mortar.  When  the  two  had 
finally  been  locked  in  their  rooms  and  sentinels  placed 
at  the  doors,  Feake  took  up  his  position  at  his  window, 
and  when  the  congregation  appeared  on  its  way  home 
from  the  service,  began  to  harangue  the  people  on  a 
curiously  irrelevant  text  from  Revelation."  The  drums 
were  beating  as  the  garrison  came  forth,  but  Feake 
succeeded  in  making  himself  heard  above  the  tumult, 
and,  when  his  voice  failed,  Rogers  took  up  the  dis- 
course from  his  window  until  Feake  had  gathered 
strength  enough  to  begin  again. 

Both  prisoners  subsequently  declared  that  they  would 
preach  themselves  to  death  rather  than  allow  their  lib- 
erty to  be  interfered  with.  Their  preaching  began  to 
undermine  the  discipline  of  the  soldiers,  and  their 
churches  sent  a  gift  to  a  sergeant  who  refused  to  use 
force  against  Rogers.  Most  irritating  of  all,  they 
posed  as  martyrs  when,  as  the  governor  of  the  castle 
complained,  that  was  the  role  unwillingly  enacted  by 
the  officers  of  the  garrison :  "  For  what  martyrdome 
can  there  be  greater  then  to  persons  who  desire  to 
employ  their  courage  and  fidelitie  according  to  their 
Conscience  to  be  crowed  over  by  persons  whom  both 
their  imprisonment  and  crimes  should  have  taught  an- 

" "  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal  there  was  silence  in 
heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour."  Probably  Feake  laid  his 
emphasis  on  the  succeeding  verse:  "And  I  saw  the  seven  angels  which 
stood  before  God;  and  to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets." 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  87 

other  civility."  As  their  congregations  maintained  that 
they  were  being  treated  with  undue  severity,  Cromwell 
appointed  a  commission  to  investigate  the  situation.'* 
The  findings  of  this  commission  are  not  on  record,  but 
apparently  it  was  decided  that  all  restraint  on  their 
"  liberty  of  prophesying "  should  be  removed,  for  by 
October  their  invectives  were  attracting  so  much  at- 
tention that  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  remove  them 
to  the  Isle  of  Wight." 

They  were  at  first  imprisoned  at  Sandown,  and  there 
is  a  mixture  of  the  absurd  and  the  pathetic  in  Feake's 
account  of  the  hardships  there,  the  unwholesomeness 
of  the  air,  and  the  horrors  of  the  bed  provided  for 
them,  which  was  not  only  damp,  but  was  stuffed  with 
hops.  To  be  sure,  they  were  offered  facilities  for  dry- 
ing the  bed,  and  a  keeper  assured  them  that  hops  were 
wholesome,  but  they  preferred  not  to  run  any  unneces- 
sary risks,  and  slept  in  their  clothes  upon  the  floor,  com- 
forting themselves  with  the  reflection  that  Nehemiah 
and  his  followers  were  once  in  a  situation  where  they 
did  not  remove  their  clothes  except  for  washing.^" 

The  importunities  of  Feake's  wife  led  to  his  being  in 
time  transported  to  the  mainland,  and  given  his  liberty 

18  "  ^  Paper  from  Coll.  Whichcock  [sic]  Governor  of  Windsor  Castle 
concerning  Mr.  Feake  and  Mr.  Rogers  ",  May  iS,  1655,  Rawlinson  MSS., 
A  26,  fol.  239  fT. ;  "A  True  relation  of  the  Unchristian  dealings  exercised 
by  the  Governor  of  Windsor  Castille,  and  the  Soldiers  under  his  com- 
maund  and  in  his  presence  towards  Mr.  Christopher  Feake  and  John 
Rodgers  (the  lords  prisoners  there)  of  which  we  underwritten  were  ey 
and  eare  witnesses",  ibid.,  fol.  252  flf. ;  Account  of  a  meeting  at  All- 
hallows,  Thurloe,  V,  756;  Weekly  Intelligencer,  May  1-8,  1655. 

"  In  June,  Feake  was  visited  by  John  Tillinghast,  a  Baptist  clergyman 
from  Norfolk  who  held  Fifth  Monarchy  views.  Going  up  to  London, 
Tillinghast  obtained  an  interview  with  Cromwell,  to  whom  he  used  lan- 
guage so  violent  that  the  bystanders  cried  shame.  Tillinghast  died  a 
short  time  after,  from  over-excitement,  his  biographer  thinks.  See  his 
life,  Diet.  Nat.  Biog. 

=»  Thurloe,  V,  757-75S. 


88        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

in  a  small  town,  with  an  order  from  the  Protector  bid- 
ding him  remain  there.  He  consulted  the  Scriptures 
to  ascertain  whether  he  was  bound  thus  to  be  his  own 
jailer,  "  At  length  came  into  my  mind  the  case  of 
Peter  and  John  in  the  4th  of  the  Acts,  who  being  called 
before  the  high  priest  Ananias  and  Caiaphas,  were  by 
them  commanded  not  to  preach  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
Now  suppose,  that  either  of  their  highnesses  had  sent 
Peter  and  John  an  order,  enjoyning  them  to  confine 
themselves  to  such  a  village,  as  Saron,  or  Joppa,  or  the 
like,  and  forbear  coming  to  preach  at  Jerusalem :  sup- 
pose, I  say,  an  order  had  come  to  them  upon  that  ac- 
count, signed  by  either  of  their  highnesses  Ananias  H. 
or  Caiaphas  H.  like  this  with  Oliver  P.  do  you  think 
they  would  have  obeyed  it,  and  been  confined  to  a  vil- 
lage? We  find  the  contrary,  for  they  preached  the 
more  boldly  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  Then  having  my 
warrant  here  from  the  scripture,  I  resolved  for  Lon- 
don, notwithstanding  the  order  of  Oliver  P."  When 
he  was  heard  of  in  London,  preaching  as  usual,  he  was 
sent  back  to  his  village,  with  a  soldier  to  keep  an  eye 
upon  him,  and  remained  there  until  an  order  came  for 
his  release  in  December,  1656.'^ 

Rogers,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  his  friends,  was  des- 
tined to  remain  long  in  what  he  considered  exile  from 
his  native  land.  For  a  time  he  was  quartered  in  a 
private  house  at  the  western  end  of  the  island,  but  as 
he  continued  to  declaim  against  the  government,  and  it 
was  difficult  to  restrain  people  from  flocking  to  hear 
him,  he  was  removed  to  Carisbrooke  Castle,  with  his 
family.    Here  he  had  the  solace  of  companionship  with 

^Ibid.;  Feake's  preface  to  The  Prophets  Malachy  and  Isaiah;  Clarke 
Papers.  Ill,  6i;  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1656-1657,  194. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  89 

Courtney  and  Harrison,  and  with  the  latter  he  estab- 
lished a  firm  friendship.  As  he  still  insisted  on  preach- 
ing- to  all  who  would  listen,  he  gained  the  ill-will  of  his 
jailers  here,  as  at  Lambeth  and  Windsor,  and  was  sub- 
jected to  many  hardships.  Later,  Sir  Henry  Vane 
became  his  fellow  prisoner,  and  the  two  became  very 
intimate,  solacing  the  hours  of  captivity  by  conversa- 
tions on  all  manner  of  topics,  including  the  coming 
kingdom.  To  them,  as  to  Feake,  the  order  for  release 
came  in  December  of  1656." 

Although  their  leaders  were  in  prison,  and  their 
meetings  attracting  less  attention,  the  zeal  of  the  Fifth 
Monarchists  had  not  waned.  Several  important  pam- 
phlets came  out  in  the  spring  of  1655,  3-"^  in  the  sum- 
mer of  that  year  the  members  entered  upon  a  new 
phase  of  activity." 

Certain  events  which  had  followed  Cromwell's  dis- 
solution of  Parliament — his  proclamation  on  religious 
liberty,  and  his  championship  of  the  Savoy  Protestants 
— were  such  as  could  not  fail  to  win  the  approbation  of 
the  Baptists.  Moreover,  the  Royalist  plots  which 
threatened  to  bring  back  the  days  of  episcopacy  natur- 
ally suggested  the  advisability  of  support  of  the  exist- 
ing government  in  fear  that  worse  might  come.  It  is 
true  that  Charles  Stuart  had  hopes  of  Baptist  support, 
but  although  throughout  the  period  individual  Baptists 
were  to  be  found  supporting  his  cause,  there  is  no  evi- 
dence of  any  concerted  movement  made  by  them  in  his 

^  Jegar  Sahadutha,  in  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  250  ff.;  Cal.  St, 
P.,  Dom.,  1636-1657,   194. 

'■"  Aspinwall,  Thunders  from  Heaven,  and  The  Work  of  the  Age; 
I'ostlethwaite,  A  Voice  from  Heaven  (Thomason) ;  Llanvaedonon,  A 
Brief  Exposition  upon  the  second  Psalme   (Thomason). 


90        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

favor."^  On  the  contrary,  some  of  the  Welsh  Baptists 
took  arms  to  help  put  down  the  March  insurrection, 
incurring  thereby  the  suspicion  that  their  movement 
was  for  the  release  of  Harrison;  and  Vavasor  Powell, 
at  the  head  of  his  supporters,  himself  captured  some  of 
the  plotters."  The  Fifth  Monarchy  men  were  far  from 
approving  such  signs  of  loyalty  to  the  Protectorate,  and 
they  began  what  seems  to  have  been  an  organized  cam- 
paign for  the  purpose  of  winning  Baptist  support  away 
from  the  government/' 

One  day  toward  the  end  of  August  all  London  was 
talking  about  some  mysterious  Queries,  which  had  been 
scattered  about  the  streets  in  the  night,  and  which  to 
many  seemed  to  presage  an  Anabaptist  plot.  The  main 
purport  of  these  queries,  which  were  entitled  A  Short 
Discovery  of  his  Highness's  Intentions  concerning  the 
Anabaptists  in  the  Army,  was  that  the  Baptists  were 
being  systematically  weeded  out  of  the  army  in  the 
course  of  the  reorganization  of  the  forces,  although 
there  had  been  a  time  when  Cromwell  was  very  glad 
of  their  services.''  The  authorship  of  this  paper  was 
pretty  conclusively  fastened  upon  John  Sturgeon,  a 

-*  Intelligence  from  Manning,  April,  1655,  Tliurloe,  III,  355;  Calendar 
Clarendon  Papers,  III,  51. 

-' Gunter  to  Goffe,  March  21,  1654/5,  Thurloe,  III,  291;  Nicholas  to 
Cromwell,  March  16,  ibid.,  252. 

**  For  an  attempt  to  quicken  Baptist  zeal  on  the  subject  of  liberty 
of  conscience,  see  the  circumstances  of  the  arrest  of  Kiffin  under  the 
old  ordinance  on  heresy,  immediately  following  the  mention  of  that 
ordinance  in  connection  with  Biddle's  arrest.  A  True  state  of  the  Case 
of  Liberty  of  Conscience,  July  14;  The  Spirit  of  Persecution  again  broken 
loose,  July  21;  The  Petition  of  Divers  Gathered  Churches,  Oct.  23, 
1655    (all  in  Thomason). 

-''  Reprinted  in  Thurloe,  III,  150.  It  is  there  called  Queries  for  his 
Highness  to  answer  to  his  own  conscience.  See  also  Perfect  Proceed- 
ings, Aug.  23-30,  1655;   Weekly  Intelligencer,  Aug.  28-Sept.  4. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  91 

member  of  Cromwell's  lifeguard,  and  a  Fifth  Mon- 
archy Baptist.**  The  idea  that  Cromwell  had  adopted 
as  a  definite  policy  the  removal  of  Baptists  from  the 
army  was  not  a  new  one.  In  April  of  the  preceding 
year  the  French  ambassador  had  written  home  that 
such  a  policy  had  been  inaugurated,  and  then  and  later 
enough  Baptists  of  Fifth  Monarchy  or  Levelling  prin- 
ciples had  been  dismissed  to  give  color  to  the  charge.*" 
If  we  add  to  these  the  officers  who  voluntarily  gave  up 
their  commissions  rather  than  own  the  government,  we 
shall  not  find  it  difficult  to  understand  the  large  reduc- 
tion in  the  number  of  Baptist  officers  since  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Protectorate.  That  Cromwell  should 
plan  to  remove  Baptists  on  account  of  their  religious 
affiliations  was  quite  out  of  keeping  with  his  character  ; 
moreover,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Baptists  had  not,  as 
Baptists,  given  any  evidence  of  being  a  menace  to  the 
government.  However,  the  plausibility  of  the  sug- 
gestion won  it  a  certain  credence.'" 

The  second  attack  on  the  government  that  contained 
a  special  appeal  to  the  Baptists  came  out  in  October. 
Its  title  is  a  summary  of  its  contents:  The  Protector, 
so  called,  in  Part  Unvailed:  by  zvhom  the  Mystery  of 
Iniquity  is  now   Working,  or  a  Word  to  the  good 

=»Thuiloe,  III,  738  ff.;  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  29,  fol.  268;  Clarke  Papers, 
III,  51.  For  Sturgeon  see  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.  Close  upon  this  affair  came 
the  Order  of  Council  against  unlicensed  printing,  and  the  disappearance 
of  all  newspapers  except  the  government  organs. 

=»  Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  April  17/27,  1654,  P-  R-  O.  Transcripts.  The 
dismissals  were  particularly  numerous  in  consequence  of  the  army  plot 
in  Scotland,  and  Thurloe's  words  in  that  connection  would  seem  almost 
a  confirmation  of  Sturgeon's  charge.     See  above,  p.  72. 

'"  In  the  Queries,  the  intentions  of  Cromwell  were  said  to  have  been 
expressed  in  a  conversation  with  Lord  Tweeddale.  The  latter  promptly 
issued  a  denial  that  any  such  conversation  had  taken  place.  Public  Intel- 
ligencer, Oct.  8-JS,  1655.     The  letter  is  dated  from  Edinburgh,  Sept.  22. 


92        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

People  of  the  Three  Nations  .  .  .  Informing  them  of 
the  Abominable  Apostacy,  Backsliding,  and  Underhand 
dealing  of  the  Man  above  mentioned,  who  having 
Usurped  Power  over  the  Nation,  hath  most  wofidly 
betrayed,  forsaken,  and  cast  out  the  good  old  Cause  of 
God,  and  the  Interest  of  Christ,  and  hath  Cheated  and 
Robbed  his  People  of  their  Rights  and  Priviledges.  By  a 
late  Member  of  the  Army,  who  was  an  Eye,  and  an  Ear 
witnesse  to  many  of  these  things.^''  Borrowing  many 
of  the  arguments,  and  frequently  the  language,  of  the 
petition  of  the  three  colonels,  the  author  depicts  the 
government  as  one  that  no  man  with  the  spirit  of  a  true 
Englishman  ought  to  be  willing  to  serve  in  any  capacity, 
civil  or  military.  But  it  is  the  Baptists  who  have 
especially  disappointed  him,  "  for  I  thought  if  any 
people  in  the  world  would  be  valiant  for  God  they 
would  ".  He  refers  pityingly  to  those  Baptists  who 
have  been  deceived  by  Cromwell's  policy  of  using  the 
support  of  the  saints  to  keep  down  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
men.  A  Baptist  acknowledgment  of  the  government 
from  Kent,  indeed,  he  thinks  was  not  drawn  up  there, 
but  in  London,  by  Baptist  adherents  of  the  court,  and 
sent  down  into  Kent  for  signatures,  "  which  acknowl- 
edgment was  cast  out  by  several  of  the  Saints  both  in 
and  out  of  the  churches,  as  an  abominable  thing.  .  .  ." 
And  truly  the  baptized  people  are  more  to  be  con- 
demned, then  the  rest,  because  in  siding  with  the  Court 
they  do  own  and  countenance  those  very  things,  as  to 
the  pomp,  pride  and  glory  of  the  world,  which  they 
abhor  and  cast  out  among  themselves ;  yet  because  one 
or  two  that  are  eminent  among  them  do  follow  the 

^^  Thomason's  date  is  October  24. 

^  This  may  possibly  be  the  address  given  in  Nickolls,  152. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  93 

Court,  and  wander  after  the  Beast,  and  a  baptised  Per- 
son is  President  of  the  Councel ",  many  Baptists  are 
blind  to  the  fact  that  the  chief  end  of  the  g-overnment 
is  to  put  down  the  spirit  and  principle  for  which  the 
Baptists  stand. 

A  third  appeal  to  the  Baptists  came  in  A  Ground 
Voice,  published  a  few  weeks  later.  It  was  addressed  to 
the  army,  "  with  Certain  Queries  to  the  Anabaptists  in 
particular  that  Bear  any  Office,  either  in  Court  or  Army, 
under  the  present  self-created  Politick  Power  ".  The 
first  part  is  a  turgid  Fifth  Monarchy  address  to  the 
soldiery,  bidding  them  come  out  of  Babylon,  and  sepa- 
rate from  the  crew  of  Antichrist ;  and  an  arraignment 
of  Cromwell,  not  merely  as  a  traitor,  but  as  a  murderer, 
guilty  of  all  the  blood  spilt  at  Hispaniola.  In  the  sec- 
ond part,  the  Baptists  who  are  serving  the  state  are 
asked  if  it  is  not  dishonorable,  and  a  denial  of  their 
professions,  to  hold  any  employment  from  the  present 
court.  Besides,  it  is  urged,  they  are  only  being  used 
as  baits,  to  prevent  the  alienation  of  their  churches, 
and  will  be  cast  out  when  the  Protector  is  more  firmly 
seated.  They  had  best  withdraw  at  once,  of  their  own 
accord,  and  put  a  distance  between  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked.'^ 

The  reference  to  the  disaster  at  Hispaniola  is  one  that 
appeared  from  this  time  forward  in  all  these  attacks  on 
the  government.  The  belief  that  the  failure  of  Crom- 
well's West  Indian  expedition  was  a  direct  judgment 
from  God  for  his  wickedness  in  seizing  the  supreme 
power,  was  one  that  made  a  strong  appeal  to  pious 

^Thomason's  date  is  November  16.  The  pamphlet  concluded  with  the 
request  to  meditate  on  such  verses  as  Revelation,  xviii,  4;  II  Corinthians, 
vi,  17;  Jeremiah,  li,  6,  45,  and  1,  8;  Isaiah,  Hi,  2,  etc. 


94        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

souls.  Fervently  held  by  the  Fifth  Monarchists,  it  was 
in  their  hands  a  potent  weapon  in  the  battle  to  win 
away  supporters  from  a  government  set  apart  by  this 
plain  sign  for  destruction.  It  was  perhaps  the  most 
effective  argument  which  they  used  in  their  efforts  to 
influence  the  Baptists,  and  those  efforts  v/ere  already 
showing  signs  of  success.  Members  of  groups  that  had 
long  been  silent  were  seen  heading  deputations  at 
Whitehall.  Cromwell's  ill-health  at  this  time,  if  not 
caused  by  disappointment  at  the  failure  of  his  plans, 
and  sorrow  on  account  of  the  expressions  of  dissatis- 
faction that  were  daily  brought  to  him,  was  certainly 
not  improved  by  them."  Fleetwood,  who  was  an  ex- 
treme Independent,  and  who  always  displayed  great 
sympathy  with  the  Baptists,  many  of  whom  were  his 
close  friends,  was  of  service  to  the  administration  at 
this  juncture.  He  had  gained  quite  a  reputation  for 
skill  in  dealing  with  discontented  sectaries  in  Ireland, 
and  he  was  able  to  enlist  the  services  of  Hierome 
Sankey,  a  Baptist  recently  returned  thence,  who  was 
at  this  time  supporting  the  Protectorate.  Together 
they  had  a  series  of  meetings  with  Simpson,  Jessey, 
and  others,  and  did  what  they  could  to^  alter  their  views, 
though  without  conspicuous  success.'^ 

The  establishment  of  the  major-generals  provided 
Cromwell  with  a  means  of  watching  the  movements  of 
the  sectaries  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Goffe,  in 
Lewes,  reported  that  a  petition  was  being  circulated 
for  the  reformation  of  the  law,  the  abolition  of  chan- 
cery, tithes,  and  oaths,  and  the  bringing  to  trial  of  pris- 

^*  Sankey  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Oct.  2,  1655,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  823, 
fol.  120. 

^^  Ibid.,  and  same  to  same,  Oct.  9,  id.,  821,  fol.  24;  Bordeaux  to 
Brienne,  Oct.  22/Nov.  1,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  95 

oners.  The  Baptists  were  very  generally  signing  it, 
and  the  members  of  the  largest  congregation  in  the 
town — that  of  Postlethwaite,  a  Fifth  Monarchy 
preacher — were  refusing  to  sign,  not  because  of  its 
tenor,  but  because  it  recognized  the  Protectorate,  ad- 
dressing Cromwell  as  "  his  highness  ".  Goffe  went  to 
hear  Postlethwaite  preach,  and  found  him  quite  mod- 
erate, his  chief  grievance  being  the  imprisonment  of 
Harrison  and  Feake.'° 

In  Wales,  the  behavior  of  Vavasor  Powell  and  John 
Williams  was  once  more  suspicious.  Major-general 
Berry  sent  for  Powell,  and  told  him  that  he  had  heard 
that  he  and  his  friends  were  "  about  some  designe,  that 
tended  to  put  things  into  distraction  ".  Powell  replied 
that  they  would  die  rather  than  do  such  a  thing;  that 
the  project  in  hand  was  merely  the  securing  of  signa- 
tures to  a  petition  which  was  to  be  presented  to  Crom- 
well ;  that  they  hoped  for  redress  of  their  grievances, 
and  were  in  any  case  in  duty  bound  to  make  public  their 
"  dissatisfactions  and  desires  ",  but  that,  this  done,  they 
intended  nothing  further.  Berry,  who  understood 
Welshmen,  and  did  not  believe  in  taking  their  notions 
too  seriously,  talked  with  him  at  length,  saying  that  he 
thought  such  a  petition,  if  privately  presented,  was 
justifiable  and  harmless,  but  that  it  would  be  unadvis- 
able  to  publish  it.  He  thought  he  had  made  an  impres- 
sion, and  told  Powell  he  might  preach,  provided  he 
avoided  vexed  questions.  Pleased  with  the  moderation 
of  his  sermons.  Berry  invited  him  to  dinner,  and  had 
another  friendly  conversation  with  him.  When  he  left, 
assuring  Berry  that  he  was  always  glad  to  be  con- 
vinced when  in  error,  and  that,  though  he  had  been 

=«  Goffe  to  Thurloe,  Nov.  s,  7,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  151,  161. 


96        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

given  a  bad  name,  "  it  neither  was  his  purpose  or  prac- 
tice to  preach  anything  tending  to  faction  ",  the  major- 
general  felt  that  fears  of  danger  from  that  quarter  were 
quite  superfluous/' 

That  his  confidence  was  based  on  insufficient  grounds 
became  apparent  during  the  ensuing  fortnight.  The 
petition  was  duly  presented,  and  Berry,  warned  that  the 
matter  had  better  be  investigated,  was  still  inclined  to 
make  light  of  it,  having  heard  that  some  of  the  signa- 
tures had  been  affixed  without  the  knowledge  of  their 
owners,  and  believing  that  the  whole  affair  was  merely 
the  result  of  misunderstanding  and  misplaced  "  Brittish  " 
zeal."*  But  within  a  few  days  the  petition  appeared  in 
print,  and  it  was  at  once  evident  that  the  government 
had  now  to  deal  with  one  of  the  most  bitter  attacks  that 
had  as  yet  been  directed  against  it."'  It  was  addressed 
to  Cromwell,  not  as  Protector,  but  as  captain-general  of 
the  forces,  and  warned  him  that  on  the  day  of  judg- 
ment he  must  answer  for  his  "  slighting  and  blasphe- 
ming of  the  spirit  of  God  ...  the  hard  measure  you 
give  his  people,  by  reproaches,  imprisonment,  and  other 
oppressions,  and  where  pride,  luxury,  lasciviousness, 
changing  of  principles,  and  forsaking  of  good  ways, 
justice  and  holiness  will  not  have  the  smallest  rag  of 
pretence  to  hide  them  from  the  eyes  of  the  judge,  which 
things  (whatsoever  you  say  for  yourself)  are  (even  at 
present)  to  be  read  in  your  forehead,  and  have  pro- 
duced most  sad  effects  everywhere ".  To  the  usual 

^  Berry  to  Thurloe,  Nov.  17,  21,  Thurloe,  IV,  211,  228;  Mercurius 
Politicus,  Nov.  21. 

5*  Same  to  same,  Dec.   i,  Thurloe,  IV,  272. 

^  "  A  word  for  God,  or  a  testimony  on  truth's  behalf,  from  several 
churches,  and  diverse  hundreds  of  Christians  in  Wales  (and  some  few 
adjacent)  against  wickednesse  in  high  places,  with  a  letter  to  the  lord 
general  Cromwell."     Reprinted  in  Thurloe,  IV,  380  ff. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  97 

grievances,  including  the  expedition  to  the  West  Indies, 
is  added  a  complaint  of  the  preferment  accorded  to 
Cromwell's  relatives  and  friends.  Finally,  the  petition- 
ers announce  that  they  "  withdraw,  and  desire  all  the 
Lord's  people  to  withdraw  from  these  men,  as  those 
that  are  guilty  of  the  sins  of  the  later  days,  and  that 
have  left  following  the  Lord,  and  that  God's  people 
should  avoid  their  sin,  lest  they  partake  with  them  in 
their  plagues  ".*" 

This  proclamation  was  greeted  with  acclamations  by 
the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  in  London.  Cornet  Day  read 
it  at  Allhallows  on  the  day  of  its  publication  to  five 
hundred  hearers,  to  whom  he  and  Simpson  denounced 
"  the  theeves  and  robbers  at  Whitehall,  and  the  great 
theife  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  tyrant  and  usurper  ".  Day 
was  arrested,  and  Simpson  went  into  hiding."  Powell 
was  arrested  before  the  publication  of  the  petition,  but 
toward  the  end  of  December  he  was  again  at  liberty, 
and  expressed  to  Berry  regret  that  Day  had  made  that 
use  of  the  paper." 

Berry  continued  to  regard  the  trouble  as  unimpor- 
tant, but  the  advice  of  men  like  Broghill,  Whalley,  and 
Haynes  was  for  repression  rather  than  neglect.  Whal- 
ley expressed  surprise  that  Cromwell  had  so  long  toler- 
ated Simpson ;  Haynes  felt  that  "  if  a  special  regard 

*"  Thurloe,  commenting  on  this  petition  in  a  letter  to  Henry  Crom- 
well, said,  "  I  will  make  noe  observations,  though  many  others  doe,  that 
it  is  evident  they  will  call  up  againe  the  old  parliament,  which  they 
themselves  were  the  great  occasion  of  destroyinge;  appeale  to  the  gen- 
erality of  the  people  for  justice  and  righteousnes,  comend  parlaments 
chosen  by  the  people  (the  thinge  they  most  of  all  hate)  or  doe  any 
other  thinge,  rather  than  misse  of  their  end  of  bringinge  thinges  to 
trouble   and   confusion  ".     Jan.    i,    1655/6,   Thurloe,   IV,    373-374. 

"  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,   Dec.    17,   25,    1655,  ibid.,  321,   343. 

*2  Newsletter,  Dec.  22,  Clarke  Papers,  III,  62;  Berry  to  Thurloe,  Dec. 
28,  Thurloe,  IV,  359;  Word  for  God,  ibid. 


98        BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

be  not  had  of  condign  punishment  of  them,  your 
friends  that  serve  you  have  but  httle  encouragement 
soe  to  doe  "."  "  Since  the  All-hallowes  men  wil  be  still 
mad  ",  wrote  Broghill,  "  'tis  a  mercy  they  appeer  soe 
evidently  that  v^e  must  confess  tacitly  they  speake  the 
truth,  unless  we  punish  them  openly  for  speakinge  of 
such  horrid  lyes.  I  know  it  has  greived  many  an  hon- 
est hart,  that  they  have  bin  suffered  so  longe ;  and 
'twould  satisfy  them,  if  they  were  tollerated  noe  longer. 
I  feare  indulgency  will  rather  heighten  their  evell,  then 
win  them  from  it." " 

Cromwell  could  not  bring  himself  to  consent  to  harsh 
measures  against  men  whose  opposition  to  him  was 
conscientious,  however  misguided.  He  preferred  to  be 
guided  by  the  excellent  principle  upon  which  Berry 
acted,  that  there  is  nothing  like  persecution  for  making 
a  cause  flourish."  Yet  the  voices  from  Allhallows  were 
far-reaching.  Henry  Cromwell  put  his  finger  on  the 
real  danger.  "  You  write  me  worde  in  your  laste  of 
Daye's  and  Sympson's  carriage  ",  he  wrote  to  Thurloe. 
"  Dare  they  be  soe  bolde,  if  they  had  not  good  backe? 
Howe  longe  have  the  Anabapt.  and  they  bin  at  odds? 
From  whence  comes  John  Sympson?'""  The  Fifth 
Monarchy  party  in  itself  was  perhaps  a  negligible 
quantity,  but  if  the  Baptists  should  be  won  over  to  their 
side  the  situation  would  be  serious.  And  the  campaign 
for  that  purpose  was  in  full  swing.  What  looked  like 
an  organized  distribution  of  the    Word  for  God,  the 

"Whalley  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  12,  ibid.,  30S;  Haynes  to  same,  Dec.  20, 
ibid.,  329. 

"  Broghill  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  25,  ibid.,  342. 

«  Berry  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  28,   1655,  Jan.  5,  1655/6,  ibid.,  359,  394. 

*«Dec.  26,  1655,  ibid.,  348. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  99 

Protector  Unvailed,  and  the  Queries,  was  going  on  in 
different  parts  of  the  country." 

The  government  was  soon  supphed  with  materials 
for  carrying  on  a  counter  campaign.  Samuel  Richard- 
son again  appeared  as  the  defender  of  the  Protectorate, 
declaring  that  "  Nature,  Reason,  and  the  word  of  God  " 
required  all  men  to  support  a  government  which  was 
established  of  God,  gave  a  freedom  hitherto  undreamed 
of  in  matters  civil  and  religious,  and  had  under  consid- 
eration all  grievances  which  were  still  unredressed.** 
From  South  Wales  came  a  paper  with  some  nine  hun- 
dred signatures,  decrying  the  Word  for  God,  and  de- 
claring that  the  majority  of  the  Welsh  people  were  loyal 
to  the  government."  These  two  papers  the  authorities 
took  steps  to  circulate  throughout  the  country,  and 
among  the  Baptists  in  the  navy.'" 

The  agitation  which  seems  to  have  been  most  wide- 
spread at  this  time  was  in  Norfolk.  In  December  the 
government  was  apprised  that  efforts  were  being  made 

"  Mercurius  Politicus,  Dec.  14,  1655;  Whalley  to  Thuiloe,  Jan.  11, 
1656,  Thurloe,  IV,  412. 

*^  Plain  Dealing,  Jan.  23,  1655/6  (Thomason).  This  effort  of  Richard- 
son's did  not  go  unrewarded.  See  Richardson  to  Thurloe,  May  17, 
Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  38,  fol.  487.  A  much  abler  response  to  the  Word 
for  God  was  the  Animadversions  upon  a  Letter  and  Paper,  attributed  by 
Gardiner  to  William  Sedgwick  of  Ely.  But  as  a  defense  of  the  govern- 
ment Richardson's  pamphlet  was  much  more  acceptable  to  the  court 
party,  and,  as  the  work  of  a  Baptist,  it  was  especially  useful  for  circu- 
lation among  Baptists.  See  Goffe  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  23,  Thurloe,  IV,  445, 
and  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Feb.  5,  12,  ibid.,  505,  531. 

"  The  Humble  Representation  and  Address  to  his  Highness,  of  several 
Churches  and  Christians  in  South  Wales  and  Monmouthshire.  Pre- 
sented Thursday,  January  31  (Thomason).  Its  asseverations  did  not  hold 
good  for  North  Wales.  Thomas  Cooper,  one  of  Cromwell's  Baptist  sup- 
porters, was  there  at  this  time,  and  was  much  cast  down  by  the  spirit 
displayed.     Cooper  to  Thurloe,  Feb.  21,  1655/6,  Thurloe,  IV,  551. 

""Butler  to  Thurloe,  Feb.  16,  ibid.,  540;  Goffe  to  same,  Feb.  11,  ibid., 
525;  Vice-admiral  Goodson  to  Thurloe,  June  24,  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  39, 
fol.  433- 


icx)      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

by  Day's  faction  to  win  over  churches  in  Norfolk  and 
Suffolk."  Late  in  January  came  word  that  some  of  the 
most  godly  men  in  the  neighborhood  of  North 
Walsham  were  carrying  on  an  agitation,  which  had 
spread  to  Norfolk  churches  hitherto  considered  free 
from  the  Fifth  Monarchy  taint.  A  general  meeting  was 
appointed  to  take  place  in  Nonvich  in  March,  to  discuss 
"  the  visible  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  present  duty  of 
the  Saints  in  reference  to  the  present  Government  of 
the  world  ",  The  more  violent  party,  among  the  leaders 
of  which  were  the  Baptist  Colonel  Danvers,  and 
Thomas  Buttivant,  a  fornier  member  of  Cromwell's 
lifeguard,  was  prepared  to  advocate  an  appeal  to  arms. 
They  were  even  said  to  have  arms  and  horses  in  readi- 
ness. It  was  arranged  by  the  authorities  that  some 
moderate  Baptists  should  attend  this  meeting,  that  they 
might  furnish  counsel  of  moderation."  The  messen- 
gers of  twelve  churches.  Baptist  and  Independent,  were 
present,  and  the  advice  of  the  sober-minded  so  far  pre- 
vailed that  the  government  newspaper  was  able  to  an- 
nounce that  they  "  generally  declared  to  each  other. 
That  they  believed  Christ  should  have  a  visible  and 
glorious  kingdom,  and  also  that  they  accounted  it  their 
duties  to  be  subject  to  the  present  Powers,  and  to  pray 
for  them :  and  if  any  should  be  otherwise  minded,  it 
would  bee  to  them  great  sorrow  and  grief  of  heart,  as 
also  an  offence  "."  A  few  weeks  later  there  was  held  a 
meeting  of  those  who  dissented  from  this  decision,  with 
the  purpose,  it  was  averred,  of  presenting  a  letter  to 
Cromwell,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Word  for  God.    Major- 

"  Haynes  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  20,  Thurloe,  IV,  329-330. 
"  Brewster  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  28,  March  5,   1655/6,  Thurloe,  IV,  472- 
473,   581;  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  March   18,  ibid.,  629. 
^^  Mercurius  Politicus,  March  13-20,  1655/6. 


SAINTS  IN  PRISON  AND  OUT  loi 

general  Haynes  talked  with  the  leading  pastors  and 
messengers,  and  made  all  possible  efforts  to  check  the 
growth  of  the  spirit  of  discontent.  In  the  end,  not  more 
than  about  thirty  took  part  in  the  meeting."  Doctrinal 
matters  were  pushing  political  questions  into  the  back- 
ground, and  many  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  here 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  were  undergoing  the 
rite  of  baptism.  Some  of  them,  too,  were  becoming 
Seekers  and  Quakers." 

On  the  whole,  the  indications  during  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1656  were  that  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party 
was  declining  in  numbers.  To  this  fact  the  spread  of 
the  Quaker  propaganda  unquestionably  contributed.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  seventeenth  century 
for  examples  of  eagerness  to  embrace  the  latest  thing 
in  religion,  and  by  1656  the  Fifth  Monarchy  movement 
had  for  many  become  vieu.v  jeu.  On  the  part  of  the 
leaders,  however,  with  very  few  exceptions,  zeal  for  the 
cause  was  unabated.  And  since  some  of  them,  like 
Powell,  were  also  enthusiastic  evangelists,  it  was  diffi- 
cult for  outsiders  to  be  sure  whether  or  no  politics  were 
entering  into  their  activities.  For  example,  Powell  in 
early  June  presided  over  a  meeting  of  more  than  four 
hundred  people,  come  together  out  of  seven  or  eight 
counties,  and  a  much  larger  meeting  was  projected  for 
the  same  month.""  Hannah  Trapnel  had  been  since  the 
preceding  December  in  Wales,  with  companions  who 
did  not  own  the  government.  In  May  it  was  reported 
that  she  was  getting  little  encouragement,  and  was 
thinking  of  crossing  the  sea.    At  the  same  time  there 

"  Haynes  to  Cromwell,  April  9,  23,  Thurloe,  IV,  687,  727. 
"Haynes   to   Thurloe,   April   23,   June   27,    July    5,   ibid.,    727;    id.,   V, 
166,   188;  Mcrcurius  Politicus,  April   17-24. 
^  to  Whitelocke,  June  12,  Thurloe,  V,  112. 


102      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

were  being  held  in  that  part  of  the  country  many  meet- 
ings of  "Fifth  Monarchmen,  Quakers,  etc.,  who  though 
they  differ  in  other  things,  agree  in  destroying  magis- 
tracy and  ministery  "."  John  Sturgeon,  the  reputed 
author  of  the  Queries,  was  addressing  large  meetings 
in  Reading,  though  he  was  avoiding  public  attacks 
upon  the  government."*  In  Hull,  tooy  the  activities 
of  John  Canne  were  so  suspicious  that  he  was  or- 
dered to  leave  the  place."  It  was  impossible  to  ignore 
reports  of  this  sort,  despite  rumors  of  dwindling 
numbers  and  lessening  credit.  Fifth  Monarchy  men 
become  Baptists  did  not  necessarily  become  peaceful 
ones :  in  fact,  the  reverse  was  sometimes  known  to  be 
the  case.""  The  very  fact  that  there  was  no  evidence 
of  a  plot  in  connection  with  any  of  the  agitations  made 
it  impossible  to  deal  with  them  efifectively,  and  their 
existence  was  one  of  the  elements  which  contributed, 
in  the  minds  of  many  sober-thinking  folk,  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  would  before  long  become  necessary  to 
settle  the  government  upon  some  firmer  foundation. 

"  Publick  Intelligencer,  Dec.  24-31,  1655;  Mercurius  Politicus,  May 
29-June  s,  1656. 

■iSGoffe  to  Thurloe,  May  i,  1656,  Thurloe,  IV,  752. 

^^Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1656-1657,  41.     See  also  Eng.  Hist.  Rev.,  1907,  314. 

*"  "  Our  North  Walshara  fifth  monarchy  bretheren,  who  weare  lately 
dipped,  are  synce  grown  exceeding  high  in  their  expressions,  and  that 
tending  to  bloud."  Haynes  to  Thurloe,  July  16,  1656,  Thurloe,  V,  220. 
See  also  ibid.,  219. 


CHAPTER  V. 
Kingdom  Building. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1657  there  were  two 
attempts,  both  unsuccessful,  to  re-establish  monarchy 
in  England.  One  of  these  attempts  was  due  to  the  be- 
lief of  lawyers  and  other  conservative  men  that  the 
only  hope  of  securing  a  permanent  settlement,  and  of 
maintaining  at  the  same  time  the  good  results  secured 
in  the  civil  wars,  was  by  restoring  the  one  form  of  gov- 
ernment recognized  by  English  laws,  and  placing  the 
crown  on  the  head  of  Cromwell.  The  other  arose  out 
of  the  conviction  of  certain  enthusiasts  that  there  was 
no  hope  for  any  settled  government  in  England  until 
they,  as  God's  chosen  people,  had  overthrown  the  ex- 
isting order  and  established  divine  kingship  in  the  per- 
son of  Jesus  Christ.  Thus,  at  the  same  moment,  but  in 
very  different  ways,  the  hottest  heads  and  the  coolest 
heads  in  England  were  dreaming  of  crowns. 

The  attempt  of  the  idealists  came  first.  To  under- 
stand it  we  must  retrace  our  steps,  and  study  the  inner 
development  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party  since  1654. 
From  its  inception  the  party  had  exhibited  two  very 
different  tendencies.  One  was  toward  the  support  of 
the  principle  that  the  existing  government  was  to  be 
overthrown  by  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  who  were  to 
separate  from  the  world,  and  endeavor  to  live  pure 
lives ;  testifying  against  evil,  but  submitting  peaceably 
to  the  government,  even  though  they  could  not  con- 
103 


104      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

scientiously  own  it.  The  other  tendency  was  toward 
the  behef  in  armed  resistance — in  estabHshing  by  the 
sword  the  rule  of  the  saints. 

The  principles  of  the  moderate  wing  were  well  set 
forth  by  William  Aspinwall  in  the  summer  of  1656. 
While  waiting  for  the  Fifth  Monarchy,  he  says,  it  is 
right  for  the  saints  to  obey  the  fourth,  and  even  hold 
office  under  it,  however  corrupt  it  may  be.  The  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  are  "  the  best  and  truest  friends  unto 
Government,  and  count  it  their  duty  to  be  faithful 
unto  their  trust,  be  the  Rulers  what  they  may,  or  the 
form  of  government  what  it  will.  Only  they  take  them- 
selves bound  in  Conscience  to  rebuke  sin,  and  bear  wit- 
ness against  unrighteousness,  in  any  person,  of  what 
quality  soever,  and  in  any  form  of  Government  what- 
soever ".' 

John  Simpson,  formerly  one  of  the  most  violent  of 
the  warlike  section,  had  already  adopted  principles 
similar  to  these.  At  a  meeting  in  February,  1656,  he 
preached  that  the  Fifth  Monarchy  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected before  the  personal  coming  of  Christ,  and 
declared  that  he  was  utterly  against  the  project  of  some 
of  the  party,  both  in  London  and  the  country,  to  appeal 
to  anns.  An  uproar  arose  straightway,  and  the  assem- 
bly broke  up  in  confusion.^ 

Delighted  at  what  seemed  an  indication  that  the 
views  of  the  party's  leaders  were  moderating,  Cromwell 
took  steps  to  ascertain  whether  it  would  be  advisable  to 
liberate  some  of  those  who  were  in  prison."    Cradock, 

1  The  Legislative  Power  is  Christ's  Peculiar  Prerogative,  August  20, 
1656  (Thomason). 

*  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Feb.  19,  1655/6,  Thurloe,  IV,  545; 
Hartlib  to  Worthington,  March  10,  Worthington  Diary  (Chetham  Soc.), 
I.  79- 

'  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1655-1656,  190,  202. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  105 

the  Baptist  minister,  was  sent  to  interview  Harrison  at 
Carisbrooke  Castle,  and  to  intimate  to  him  that  the 
Protector  was  willing  to  restore  him  his  freedom,  pro- 
vided he  would  give  a  pledge  to  remain  peaceably  at  his 
country  home  and  refrain  from  action  against  the  gov- 
ernment. Fleetwood  went  on  a  similar  errand  to  Rich, 
who  was  his  personal  friend.  After  their  first  inter- 
view Rich  wrote  him  a  long  letter,  in  order  to  make 
clear  his  position."  He  laid  weight  upon  the  entire 
injustice  of  his  imprisonment,  and  maintained  that, 
were  he  to  consent  to  any  condition  whatever  in  order 
to  secure  his  liberty,  it  would  be  a  tacit  concession  that 
there  had  been  some  warrant  for  the  treatment  he  had 
undergone.  He  declared  that  his  only  course  was  to 
remain  quietly  in  prison  "  till  conviction  of  the  errour 
be  actually  acknowledged  by  looseing  bonds  without 
any  other  cry  or  petition  but  their  own  injustice  .  .  . 
I  envy  not  those  in  power,  but  pity  and  pray  for  them, 
but  it  is  that  their  workes  may  be  burnt  and  their  soules 
saved  so  as  by  fire,  which  if  such  fooles  as  I  am  should 
attempt  to  kindle  'twould  perhaps  scorch  me  as  much 
or  more  then  them.  ...  I  leave  them  to  the  Lord ;  he 
is  the  best  judge  of  his  owne  wrong  or  mine  if  any  be ; 
if  they  feare  us  raysing  armys  surely  it  could  not  be 
in  the  cloudes ;  their  courage,  wisedome  and  conduct 
are  more  honourable  guards  from  new  or  old  enemys, 
then  putting  freinds  in  durance.  If  it  be  not  such  an 
outward  but  a  more  spirituall,  invisible  and  inward 
appearance  that  is  suspected,  alas,  what  walls  or  force 

*  The  first  part  of  the  rough  draft  of  this  letter  was  printed  in 
Thurloe,  VI,  251.  The  latter  part  was  misplaced  among  the  papers  of 
1657,  and  has  never  been  printed.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  Rawlinson 
MSS.,  A,  60,  fol.  458  ff.  It  is  written  on  rough  paper,  in  poor  ink,  with 
numerous  corrections  and  interlineations. 


io6      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

can  confine  the  anointing  ?  Can  it  be  thought  that  vio- 
lent suspensions  practised  upon  that  invincible  spirit 
which  breathes  not  but  in  innocent  purity,  justice,  and 
righteousnesse,  doe  portend  more  then  the  will  and 
weaknesse  of  man,  which  intends  but  cannot  obtaine  its 
suppression  ?  "  Harrison's  answer  was  in  the  same 
spirit.  Both  men  professed  a  preference  for  captivity, 
as  an  occasion  of  spiritual  profit,  and  an  opportunity 
to  benefit  by  the  prayers  of  the  saints.  However,  not- 
withstanding their  refusal  to  give  pledges,  freedom 
was  forced  upon  them.  Although  the  order  for  their 
release  was  stayed  on  March  i,  when  rumors  of  a  rising 
were  rife,  Harrison  was  set  free  on  March  22,  and  Rich 
probably  about  the  same  time.°  Harrison  retired  to  his 
father-in-law's  house  at  Highgate,  which  now  became, 
according  to  Thurloe,  the  center  of  resort  for  the  dis- 
affected party." 

The  party  in  London  which  believed  in  an  appeal  to 
arms,  though  small  in  numbers  at  this  time,  was  great 
in  zeal.  It  was  probably  during  the  preceding  winter 
that  its  members  had  organized  five  meetings  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  city.  According  to  infonnation  which 
reached  Thurloe,  each  of  these  meetings  consisted  of 
twenty-five  members,  and  only  one  member  of  each 
meeting  knew  of  the  existence  of  the  other  four.  From 
these  organizations  representatives  were  sent  out  to 
carry  on  the  propaganda  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.'    The  headquarters  were  in  Swan  Alley,  Cole- 

^  Rogers,  Jegar  SaJiadutlia,  in  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  277.  Rich  was 
arrested  in  Augtist,  and  imprisoned  at  Windsor  till  Oct.  4,  when  he  was 
ordered  confined  at  his  country  house.  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1656-1657,  71, 
112,   130,  582. 

^Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  April  16,  1656,  Thurloe,  IV,  698.  For 
Harrison's  attitude  during  this  summer,  see  Harrison  to  Jones,  12th  5th 
mo..  Correspondence  of  John  Jones,  257. 

'Thurloe's  account,  Thurloe,  VI,   184  ff. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  107 

man  Street,  and  here  were  held  both  the  pubhc  meet- 
ings, and  private  ones,  to  which  only  the  faithful  were 
admitted.  The  auditory  was  wrought  to  the  pitch  of 
tears  and  lamentations  by  means  of  expositions  on  such 
texts  as  the  following :  "  If  I  whet  my  glittering  sword, 
and  mine  hand  take  hold  on  judgment ;  I  will  render 
vengeance  to  mine  enemies,  and  will  reward  them  that 
hate  me.  I  will  make  mine  arrows  drunk  with  blood, 
and  my  sword  shall  devour  flesh ;  and  that  with  the 
blood  of  the  slain  and  of  the  captives,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  revenges  upon  the  enemy."  *  These  meetings 
were  much  frequented  by  young  apprentices,  who  quite 
relished  being  told  that  they  were  God's  people  chosen 
out  of  an  apostate  nation  which  had  adopted  a  hypo- 
critical government ;  that  the  time  of  deliverance  was 
at  hand,  and  that  they  should  be  as  the  lion  terrible  to 
the  rest  of  the  beasts.' 

Through  the  conversation  of  some  of  these  appren- 
tices rumors  came  to  the  ears  of  the  authorities  in 
March,  1656,  of  a  boasted  force  of  six  thousand  men, 
armed  and  ready  to  join  any  rising  against  the  govern- 
ment. There  was  talk  of  plots  to  put  Cromwell  and  the 
Lord  Mayor  to  death,  to  punish  the  aldermen,  and  to 
set  Harrison  and  the  other  prisoners  free."  These  were 
the  reports  which  caused  the  stay  in  the  proceedings  for 
the  liberation  of  Harrison  and  Rich,  which  were  con- 
tinued after  some  investigations  had  been  made.  No 
foundations  for  the  rumors  were  discovered,  and  the 

*  Deuteronomy,  xxii,  41,  42. 

»  Information,  May  26,  1656,  Thurloe,  V,  60.  Another  place  of  meeting 
was  White's  Alley,  Coleman  Street. 

1"  Examinations  and  information,  March  15,  17,  26,  id.,  IV,  621,  624, 
650. 


io8      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

reports  from  the  country  indicated  that  the  propaganda 
there  was  having  no  signal  success/^ 

However  unsuccessful  in  winning  converts,  the  little 
body  of  enthusiasts  in  London  worked  on  with  zeal 
undiminished.  At  a  meeting  on  July  8  it  was  decided 
that  the  time  for  pulling  down  Babylon  and  its  adher- 
ents had  come,  and  that  the  saints  must  do  it,  and  by 
means  of  the  sword.  To  avoid  discovery,  it  was  decided 
that  one  man  should  be  chosen  out  of  each  meeting,  to 
whom  his  fellow-members  were  to  communicate  "  what 
readiness  they  are  in,  with  what  force  they  have,  what 
arms,  what  money,  and  when  to  be  ready  ".  Thus  only 
one  in  each  assembly  knew  the  names  of  those  who 
were  engaging  in  the  conspiracy." 

Rumors  of  these  transactions  came  to  the  ears  of 
other  discontented  factions.  The  Commonwealth  men 
had  some  Fifth  Monarchy  men  among  them,  and  it  was 
hoped  that  an  understanding  between  the  two  parties 
might  be  brought  about,  and  some  joint  action  decided 
upon.  A  meeting  was  arranged,  and  among  the  twelve 
present  were  Colonel  Okey,  Arthur  Squib,  John  Port- 
man,  and  Thomas  Venner,  with  Vice-admiral  Lawson 
and  four  captains  of  the  navy."  Squib  belonged  to  the 
radical  party  in  the  Little  Parliament,  Portman  was  a 
Baptist  who  held  a  minor  position  in  the  admiralty 
office,  and  Venner  was  a  wine  cooper  who  had  held  a 
post  in  the  Tower,  but  had  lost  it  the  preceding  summer 
for  suspected  implication  in  a  plot  there." 

"Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  April  15,  1656,  Thurloe,  IV,  698;  same 
to  Montague,  April  28,  Carte,  Original  Letters,  II,  104. 

"  "  The  effect  of  the  meeting  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men."  Thurloe, 
V.   197. 

"Thurloe's  account,  id.,  VI,  185. 

"  Barkstead  to  Cromwell,  June  6,  1655,  Thurloe,  III,  520.  Venner 
had  lived  for  a  long  time  in  New  England.  See  Banks,  "  Thomas  Ven- 
ner," in  New  Eng.  Hist,  and  Gen.  Reg.,   1893. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  109 

The  basis  of  the  proposed  agreement  between  the  two 
parties  was  the  Healing  Question  of  Sir  Henry  Vane. 
The  point  upon  which  a  settlement  promised  to  be 
difficult  was  the  manner  of  procedure.  The  Common- 
wealth party  advocated  the  assembling  of  a  select  few 
of  the  members  as  their  authority,  while  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  desired  immediate  action,  with  no  precon- 
certed plan,  the  issue  to  be  left  to  Providence.  Appeal 
was  made  to  Harrison  and  Rich  to  help  settle  the  dif- 
ferences of  opinion,  but  they  refused  to  be  drawn  into 
the  affair.  The  meetings  dragged  along,  the  govern- 
ment keeping  its  eye  upon  the  men  known  to  be  con- 
cerned, until  on  July  29  Lawson,  Okey,  Portman,  and 
Venner  were  ordered  brought  before  the  Council.  Ven- 
ner  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities,  and  the 
others  were  dismissed  with  admonitions." 

The  agitations  of  the  Commonwealth  party  had  been 
begun  as  a  result  of  the  news,  made  public  on  June  26, 
that  a  new  Parliament  was  to  be  elected.  Cromwell 
had  endeavored  to  avoid  calling  a  Parliament  at  this 
time,  but  the  absolute  necessity  of  raising  money  had 
forced  him  to  it.  Straightway  efforts  were  made 
to  bring  to  the  polls  in  opposition  to  the  Cromwellian 
policy  a  large  number  of  Commonwealth  men,  Level- 
lers, Baptists,  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  and  Royalists. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  one  contention  of  some 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party  was  that 
the  saints  ought  not  to  take  part  in  parliamentary  elec- 
tions.   To  men  with  such  scruples  was  addressed  that 

"Thurloe's  relation,  Thurloe,  VI,  185-186;  Barkstead  to  Thurloe, 
July  25,  1656,  id.,  V,  248;  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Sept.,  1656, 
ibid.,   317;   Thurloe  to  Montague,  Aug.   28,   Carte,   Original  Letters,   II, 


no      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

very  able  piece  of  campaign  literature,  England's  Re- 
membrancers. Its  plea  was  that  the  present  call  for  a 
Parliament  was  the  voice  of  God,  "  saying,  Gather  the 
people,  call  a  solemn  assembly,  go  and  reason  together". 
It  opened  the  way  to  escape  from  the  existing  tyranny. 
Those  who  refused  to  do  any  thing  that  implied  a  recog- 
nition of  the  government  were  told  that  the  exercise 
of  the  suffrage  was  not  such  a  recognition,  since  it  was 
an  inherent  right,  unconnected  with  writs  of  election. 
Those  who  believed  "  that  God  requireth  at  this  time 
higher  ways  of  advancing  Christ's  kingdom  than  by 
parliaments "  were  assured  that  there  could  be  no 
higher  way,  and  no  better  means  of  advancing  Christ's 
kingdom,  than  the  election  of  a  body  of  able  and  godly 
men." 

Copies  of  this  pamphlet  were  distributed  during  a 
prayer  made  by  Venner  in  a  private  meeting  in  Cole- 
man Street,  Swan  Alley,  on  August  third."  Other 
copies  were  distributed  throughout  the  country.  Those 
sent  to  Norwich  were  traced  to  Buttivant,  one  of  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  leaders  there."  Its  suggestions  bore 
some  fruit,  in  so  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the  reports 
that  Fifth  Monarchy  men  took  part  in  the  tumultuous 
elections  that  followed."     Rich  and  Alured  were  ar- 

'°  Printed  in  Thurloe,  V,  268  ff.  Thomason's  date  is  August  i,  and 
he  adds  "  Scattred  about  the  streets  ". 

"  Informations,  Thurloe,  V,  272. 

'*  Haynes  to  Thurloe,  Aug.  10,  1656,  ibid.,  297;  examinations,  ibid., 
342- 

1°  An  interesting  example  of  the  confusion  in  men's  minds  regarding 
parties  and  principles  is  furnished  by  the  election  of  William  Kiffin  for 
Middlesex.  The  opposition  to  him  was  organized  by  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
Baptist  Chillenden,  who  of  course  opposed  him  because  he  was  one  of 
Cromwell's  supporters.  Kiffin,  however,  was  mobbed  at  the  polls  by  the 
country  people,  whose  slogan  was,  "  Noe  Anabaptist  ".  Thurloe  to 
H.  Cromwell,  Aug.  26,  1656,  Thurloe,  V,  349;  Titon  to  Kiffin,  Aug.  8, 
ibid.,  286. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  in 

rested  in  connection  with  these  tumults,  probably  on 
suspicion  that  they  had  had  something  to  do  with  the 
appearance  of  the  pamphlet  in  question.''" 

Despite  all  agitation,  the  results  of  the  elections  were 
not  such  as  to  promise  much  encouragement  to  unyield- 
ing opponents  of  the  Cromwellian  regime,  and  the 
plans  of  the  warlike  party  of  the  Fifth  Monarchists 
were  again  pushed  to  the  fore.  In  September  a  declar- 
ation of  their  position  was  in  print.  It  announced  that 
the  saints  constituted  a  state  by  themselves,  and  as  such 
were  justified  in  exercising  their  royal  authority  and 
using  "  all  honest  and  just  means  to  defend  themselves, 
and  offend  their  enemies,  and  to  contend  against  those 
that  doe  or  shall  oppose  them  in  their  worke  and  busi- 
nes,  which  is  accordinge  to  the  patterne  shewed  unto 
them  in  the  mount  and  law  of  Christ,  ordained  and  de- 
clared throughout  the  Scriptures ".  The  work  of 
destruction  must  precede  the  setting  up  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  to  prepare  for  this  work  the  saints  must 
separate  from  the  state  church,  and  from  the  gathered 
churches  which  do  not  believe  in  the  war  against  Christ's 
enemies,  and  must  not  serve  or  own  the  civil  power." 

The  organizers  of  the  rising  were  all  obscure  men. 
The  only  name  among  them  which  is  at  all  familiar 
is  that  of  Venner,  who  achieved  notoriety  through 
another  plot  in  post-Restoration  days.  The  plans  were 
drawn  up  at  night  meetings  by  a  few  leading  spirits, 
and  then  submitted  to  the  larger  assembly.    It  was  de- 

^°  Gardiner,  Cominonzvcalth  and  Protectorate,  IV,  262. 

"^  The  Banner  of  Truth  Displayed:  or,  a  testimony  for  Christ,  and 
against  Anti-Christ.  Being  the  substance  of  severall  Consultations, 
holden  and  kept  by  a  Certain  Number  of  Christians,  who  are  waiting  for 
the  Visible  appearance  of  Christ's  Kingdome,  in  and  over  the  world: 
and  residing  in  and  about  the  city  of  London,  Sept.  24,  1656  (Thomason). 


112      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

cided  "  that  principally  we  endeavour  and  engage 
against  the  army,  and  principles  of  the  army,  .  .  .  and 
that  according  to  reason  and  wisdom,  we  do  not  sepa- 
rate colours,  and  engage  against  many  strong  enemyes 
at  once,  as  the  priests  and  lawyers  ".  The  organization 
of  the  conspirators  was  as  nearly  as  possible  along 
biblical  lines.  The  forces  were  to  be  divided  into  three 
bands,  according  to  the  precedent  established  by  Abra- 
ham, Jacob,  Gideon,  and  David ;  the  officers  were  chosen 
by  lot.  "  Such  gayne  and  spoyle  as  is  due  to  the  Lord, 
and  to  the  treasury  and  work  of  the  Lord,  according  to 
the  rule  and  practice  of  the  Scripture,  both  of  gold, 
brasse,  and  precious  things  ",  was  to  be  brought  into 
a  common  treasury,  "  and  that  which  is  for  the  brothers, 
for  their  particular  encouragement "  was  to  be  equally 
distributed  among  those  who  went  into  action  and  those 
whose  duty  it  was  to  "  stay  with  the  stufife  ".  A  seal 
was  chosen,  bearing  a  lion  couchant,  and  the  motto 
"  Who  shall  rouze  him  up  ?"  The  plan  was  to  begin  by 
falling  upon  a  troop  of  horse,  executing  the  officers 
and  all  the  soldiers  who  refused  to  submit,  and  seizing 
the  horses,  "  because  the  Lord  hath  need  ".  Spies  were 
sent  out  to  view  the  country  for  a  suitable  spot  for  such 
an  enterprise,  and  a  rendezvous  was  selected  in  Epping 
Forest."^  Messengers  were  to  publish  in  all  the  large 
market  towns  a  proclamation  asserting  that  testimony 
had  been  given  against  the  apostasy  of  the  government, 
that  God  had  set  his  seal  upon  that  testimony  by  blast- 
ing the  Hispaniola  design,  and  that  the  saints  were  now 

^-  The  greater  part  of  the  deciphered  copy  of  the  conspirators'  minutes, 
in  the  Add.  MSS.,  4459,  fols.  111-122,  has  been  published  by  Mr. 
Champlin  Burrage  in  the  Eng,  Hist.  Rev.,  1910,  725-737.  They  were 
deciphered  by  Jessop  and  several  of  the  members  of  Richard  Cromwell's 
Parliament.     Burton,  Diary,  III,  494. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  1 13 

justified  in  rising  against  evil  doers,  since  Parliament 
and  army  in  the  past  had  shown  that  it  was  "  no  resist- 
ing of  Magistracy  to  side  with  just  principles  ".  This 
proclamation,  which  was  later  printed  and  circulated, 
outlined  the  government  of  the  coming  state.  Christ 
was  to  be  the  supreme  legislative  power ;  the  Scriptures, 
the  body  of  the  law ;  a  Sanhedrim  of  godly  men  was 
to  be  the  chief  magistracy,  having  control  of  the  militia. 
There  was  to  be  no  taxation  without  the  consent  of  the 
people,  no  tithes,  and  no  interference  of  the  civil  power 
in  religious  matters. 

"  We  do  now  ",  the  proclamation  concluded,  "  in  the 
name  and  Authority  of  the  Lord  King- Jesus,  call  upon 
the  Lord's  people,  our  Brethren,  Sisters,  and  Friends, 
with  every  one  that  professeth  the  name  of  God,  that 
are  yet  in  Babilon  ...  to  come  out  of  her  .  .  .  for  the 
houre  of  his  Judgment  is  come." ""  When  sufficient 
forces  should  be  assembled  at  the  rendezvous,  the  con- 
spirators expected  to  march  into  Norfolk  and  Suffolk, 
"  because  there  is  most  Churches  and  Christians  of  the 
faith,  and  the  Countrey  generally  enclosed  and  soe 

^  A  Standard  Set  Up.  Whereunto  the  true  Seed  and  Saints  of  the  most 
High  may  he  gathered  together  into  one,  out  of  their  severall  Forms: 
For  the  Lambe  against  the  Beast,  and  False  Prophet  in  this  good  and  hon- 
ourable Cause.  Or,  the  Principles  and  Declaration  of  the  Remnant,  who 
have  waited  for  the  blessed  Appearance  and  Hope.  Shewing,  how  Saints 
as  Saints,  men  as  men,  and  the  Creation  shall  have  their  blessings  herein, 
as  in  the  Deliverance  of  the  True  Church  out  of  Babylon,  and  all  Con- 
fusion; as  in  the  most  Righteous  and  Free  Common-Wealth-State ;  as  in 
the  Restitution  of  all  things.  Subscribed  IV.  Medley,  Scribe.  .  .  .  Who 
shall  Rouse  Him  Up?  Lift  up  a  Standard  for  the  People,  whereunto  the 
true  Seed  and  Saints  of  the  Most  High  may  be  gathered  together.  May 
17,  (Thomason).  Cromwell  was  informed  that  this  proclamation  was  the 
work  of  a  leading  spirit  in  the  Little  Parliament,  Letters  and  Speeches, 
III,  79.  It  may  possibly  have  been  by  John  Browne,  one  of  the  Welsh 
radicals,  who  was  a  Fifth  Monarchy  man.  See  letter  of  Browne  to  John 
Wright,  Rawlinson  j\ISS.,  A  47,  fol.  30. 


114      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

most  fitt  for  our  purpose ".  A  certain  number  of 
horses,  and  some  arms  and  ammunition  were  in  readi- 
ness. The  "  sisters  ",  who  met  by  themselves,  had 
charge  of  the  proclamations,  which  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  churches  and  elsewhere  after  the 
expedition  had  set  out.  Such,  in  its  naive  simplicity, 
was  the  plan,  the  details  of  which  the  brethren  were 
allowed  to  reveal  only  so  far  as  was  needed  for  bring- 
ing in  recruits. 

The  propaganda  had  little  success.  For  one  reason 
and  another  the  recognized  leaders  of  the  party  refused 
to  join  the  plotters.  Feake,  who  had  finally  been  given 
complete  liberty,  was  no  more  reconciled  to  the  govern- 
ment than  he  had  ever  been.  Coming  up  to  London  he 
had  harangued  a  gathering  in  Newgate  market  until  it 
was  broken  up  by  the  marshal  and  his  men.  The  fol- 
lowing day  he  spoke  for  some  three  hours  at  a  meeting 
of  churches  at  AUhallows,  where  Simpson  and  Kifiin 
were  present.  He  gave  a  detailed  account  of  his  suf- 
ferings in  prison,  and  with  his  accustomed  vigor  at- 
tacked the  Babylonish  government,  with  its  relics  of 
popery,  its  lawyers,  and  its  triers.  He  declared  that 
so  far  from  bewailing  divisions  among  the  churches,  he 
believed  they  ought  to  be  increased ;  that  the  churches 
were  becoming  corrupt,  and  allying  themselves  with 
Babylon,  and  that  those  who  were  still  faithful  ought 
to  be  stirred  up  to  come  out  of  them.^*  Kiffin  and  Simp- 
son undertook  to  defend  the  government  against  his 
strictures,  winning  for  themselves  from  the  audience 
the  epithets  of  "  courtier  "  and  "  apostate  ".  It  would 
seem  from  this  incident  that  Feake  was  in  a  mood  to 

**  Account  of  a  meeting  at  AUhallows,  Thurloe,  V,  755  ff. ;  newsletter, 
January  6,  1656/7,  Clarke  Papers,  III,  86. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  iiS 

join  the  extremists,  and  he  was,  indeed,  invited  to 
preach  at  one  of  their  meetings,  but  for  some  reason  he 
was  excluded  at  the  last  moment.  Nothing-  daunted, 
he  made  his  way  to  an  upper  room  and  preached  there, 
to  the  disturbance  and  indignation  of  those  below." 
The  breach  thus  made  was  not  healed,  and  the  plotters 
had  to  do  without  the  aid  of  this  able  leader.  Similar 
ill  fortune  awaited  them  in  other  directions.  Rogers 
had  been  warned  against  them  by  the  churches  of 
Ipswich  and  Abingdon,  and  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  them.""  Harrison,  Carew,  and  "  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners  ",  sought  an  interview  with  the  leaders,  and 
expressed  regret  at  the  differences  of  opinion  which 
existed  within  the  party.  They  said  that  the  conspira- 
tors were  not  of  a  gospel  spirit,  and  refused  to  join 
them.  Similar  refusals  were  met  with  from  people  of 
less  note.  One  speaker  in  a  Coleman  Street  meeting 
compared  Venner  and  his  associates  to  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram.  They  had  great  hopes  of  winning  over 
the  Baptist  church  to  which  Portman  belonged,  and 
judged  from  the  replies  the  Baptists  made  to  their 
overtures  that  they  too  were  waiting  for  the  call,  and 
were  organized,  with  officers  and  a  set  of  reasons  for 
their  position.    It  turned  out,  however,  that  there  was 

"  Conspirators'  minutes.  A  lilr.  Chapman  was  also  excluded.  This 
may  have  been  Livewcll  Chapman,  the  publisher  of  most  of  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  pamphlets. 

^*  Thurloe  had  heard  that  the  first  plan  of  the  plotters  had  been  to 
begin  the  rising  at  Abingdon,  at  the  funeral  of  John  Pendarvis,  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  Baptist.  The  funeral  services  were  prolonged  for  several 
days,  and  were  finally  interrupted  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers.  If  the 
government  had  been  misinformed,  and  there  was  no  connection  between 
the  Abingdon  group  and  the  Venner  group,  as  appears  from  a  passage 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  A  IVitncs  to  the  Saints  in  England  and  Wales, 
i6s7  (Thomason),  the  hostility  of  the  Abingdon  church  would  easily  be 
understood. 


ii6      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

a.  grave  difficulty  in  the  way.  According  to  the  state- 
ment in  Revelation,  xi,  the  Gentiles  were  to  tread  the 
court  of  the  holy  city  for  forty-two  months.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  the  rule  of  the  Beast  would  be  over, 
and  the  reign  of  Christ  would  begin.  This  exact 
limitation  set  upon  the  Protectorate — for  the  Pro- 
tectorate was  without  question  the  rule  of  the  Beast — 
had  already  helped  Fifth  Monarchy  men  to  endure 
patiently."  Now  although  the  forty-two  months  would 
not  be  at  an  end  until  the  sixteenth  of  June,  1657,  Ven- 
ner  had  arranged  for  his  rising  to  take  place  early  in 
the  second  week  of  April.  Probably  his  faction  believed 
that  two  months'  time  was  not  too  long  to  allow  for 
undermining  the  foundations  of  the  Beast,  but  the 
Baptists  in  question  refused  to  stir  before  that  time. 
They  were  strengthened  in  their  refusal  by  the  know- 
ledge that  Harrison  and  the  other  ex-prisoners  disap- 
proved of  the  enterprise.  In  the  end  a  few  of  these 
Baptists  allowed  themselves  to  be  persuaded  to  join 
the  conspirators,  but  the  majority  of  them  held  aloof. 
There  were  dissensions,  too,  in  the  plotters'  ranks — 
jealousies  as  to  the  choice  of  officers,  and  so  on ;  and  at 
one  time  even  doubt  whether  their  call  was  sure.  They 
put  doubts  behind  them,  however,  and  although  their 
pledged  force  finally  numbered  no  more  than  eighty, 
they  thought  of  the  thousands  who  would  flock  to  their 

^^  "  And  were  it  not  to  fulfil  the  word  of  God  (Rev.  xi)  that  this  pres- 
ent death  is  upon  us  for  three  years  and  a  half,  I  should  be  so  astonished 
at  it  as  not  to  know  what  to  make  of  it.  .  .  .  Yea,  the  shrill  heaven, 
heart,  and  earth  tearing  call  of  saints,  past,  present,  and  to  come  .  .  . 
to  maintain  their  cause,  to  revenge  their  blood  and  the  Lamb's,  and  to  be 
UP  AND  DOING  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  King  of  Saints,  it  is  now  within 
a  year  or  two,  as  we  shall  show  you."  Rogers  wrote  these  words  in 
1655,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  138-139. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  U? 

Standard  when  once  it  was  set  up,  and  took  courage. 
The  date  finally  set  for  the  rising  was  midnight  of 
April  9,  1657,  The  forces  were  to  gather  in  three  dif- 
ferent parts  of  London,  whence  they  were  to  march  to 
the  common  rendezvous  at  Mile  End  Green.  At  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  word  was  brought  to 
Whitehall  that  there  were  Fifth  Monarchy  men  as- 
sembling in  Bishopsgate  Street.  A  troop  of  horse  was 
sent  out,  which  found  Venner  and  twenty-three  others, 
in  a  house  in  Shoreditch,  booted  and  spurred,  and  pray- 
ing for  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  Some  arms,  a 
standard  bearing  the  lion  device,  and  packages  of  the 
proclamations  were  found  at  the  rendezvous,  and  sup- 
plies of  arms  and  ammunition  were  discovered  in  a 
house  in  Swan  Alley.  Harrison,  Lawson,  Rich,  and 
Danvers  were  sent  for  by  the  Council  and  questioned, 
but  nothing  further  was  done.  The  authorities  had 
possession  of  the  papers  which  showed  the  relations  of 
Harrison  and  his  friends  to  the  plotters,  and  they  did 
not  implicate  these  men.  Cromwell  took  a  friendly  tone 
toward  Venner  and  his  followers,  when  they  were 
brought  before  the  Council,  but  they  responded  with 
bitterness  and  insolence.  They  were  sent  to  the  Tower, 
and  the  attempt  to  establish  the  Fifth  Monarchy  by 
overthrowing  the  Protectorate  was  at  an  end,  or  prac- 
tically at  an  end.  A  single  report  has  come  down  to  us 
of  a  body  of  Fifth  Monarchy  men  gathered  near 
Epping  at  the  end  of  April  or  in  the  early  part  of  May, 
but  easily  dispersed  by  a  party  of  horse.  As  some  sixty 
were  said  to  have  been  captured  in  this  attempt,  it 
would  seem  to  have  been  a  more  considerable  one  than 


ii8      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Venner's,  but  whether  it  was  connected  with  his,  or  an 
independent  movement,  it  is  impossible  to  say.'' 

Thurloe  gave  an  account  of  the  conspiracy  of  Ven- 
ner's party  to  Parhament,  and  there  was  some  debate 
upon  it.  Highland,  among  others,  felt  strongly  that  the 
conspirators  should  be  severely  dealt  with.  However, 
the  aflfair  came  during  the  debate  on  the  kingship,  and 
was  set  aside  for  the  matter  of  larger  moment."' 

Absurd  as  were  the  details  of  the  conspiracy,  and 
inconsiderable  as  were  the  numbers  and  standing 
of  the  persons  engaged,  it  represented  a  very  real 
danger,  as  Professor  Firth  has  pointed  out,  because  of 
the  insecure  status  of  the  government,  and  the  fact  that 
there  were  other  bodies  of  malcontents  who  would  have 
been  glad  to  take  advantage  of  the  outbreak,  had  it  not 
been  stamped  out  at  the  beginning.'"  Its  occurrence  at 
this  particular  juncture  was  very  useful  in  pointing  a 
moral  in  connection  with  the  kingship  project.  As 
Henry  Cromwell  put  it,  writing  to  his  father,  "  These 
wylde  notions  concerning  the  right  of  saints  to  reign, 
and  the  imaganary  immediate  government  of  Christ 
upon  earth,  must  needs  call  aloud  for  some  settlement 
both  in  church  and  state,  such  as  the  parliament  hath 
lately  advised  your  highnes  unto  ". "  Though  there 
were  differences  of  opinon  with  regard  to  the  desira- 
bility of  the  form  of  settlement  advised  by  Parliament, 

28  Cited  by  Firth,  Last  Years  of  the  Protectorate,  I,  218,  note.  Most 
of  the  sources  for  Venner's  plot  are  quoted  by  Burrage,  Eng.  Hist.  Rev., 
1910,  725-737- 

29  Burton,  Diary,  II,  2  ff. 

^"  Firth,  op.  cit.,  I,  218.  The  discovery  of  the  plot  was  of  course  a 
signal  for  an  attack  on  all  that  the  party  stood  for,  including  its  oppo- 
sition to  a  church  establishment.  See  The  Dozvnfall  of  the  Fifth 
Monarchy,  or.  The  personal  Reign  of  Christ  on  Earth,  confuted,  April 
20,  1657  (Thomason). 

81  April  22,  1657,  Thurloe,  VI,  222. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  119 

English  people  generally  were  in  agreement  with  young 
Henry  as  to  the  desirability  of  some  change  in  the  gov- 
ernment." 

Though  Thurloe  tried  to  obscure  it,  the  fact  remains 
that  the  offer  of  kingship  to  Cromwell,  while  it  did  not 
inspire,  certainly  furnished  a  spur  to  Venner's  outbreak. 
It  says  something  for  the  unwillingness  of  a  large  body 
of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party  to  appeal  to  arms,  and 
also  indicates  a  falling  away  in  the  numbers  of  the 
party  as  a  whole,  that  the  plot,  during  the  weeks  when 
Cromwell's  acceptance  of  the  crown  was  considered 
very  probable,  received  no  more  encouragement.  In 
any  case,  the  lack  of  generalship  shown  in  the  plans  of 
Venner  and  his  men,  their  quarrelsome  spirit,  and  the 
difficulty  of  getting  any  considerable  number  of  per- 
sons to  agree  on  the  interpretation  of  the  chronology  of 
the  book  of  Revelation,  was  bound  to  preclude  his  gain- 
ing many  converts.  But  the  lack  of  any  noteworthy  ex- 
pressions of  opposition  to  the  kingship  project  on  the 
part  of  Fifth  Monarchy  men  in  general,  indicates  a  cer- 
tain indifference  on  the  subject.  Probably  it  seemed  to 
them  that  the  Protectorate  was  practically  as  bad  as  a 
monarchy,  and  that  the  proposal  for  a  change  in  title  was 
in  itself  a  forerunner  of  the  change  that  was  to  end  the 
Beast's  dominion ;  each  change  in  the  condition  of 
affairs  bringing  so  much  nearer  the  great  change  which 
was  to  establish  Christ  on  his  throne. 

The  most  conspicuous  opposition  to  the  project  for 
making  Cromwell  king  came  not  from  Fifth  Monarchy, 
but  from  Baptist,  ranks.  The  great  mass  of  the  Baptists 

^  Cromwell  himself  used  the  conspiracy  as  an  argument  when  he  was 
urging  the  adoption  of  the  Petition  and  Advice  without  the  title  of  king. 
Letters  and  Speeches,  III,  68. 


120      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

untouched  by  Fifth  Monarchy  views  had  accepted  the 
Protectorate,  after  the  first,  with  something  hke  resig- 
nation. Many  of  them,  and  this  would  be  particularly 
true  of  the  Baptists  in  the  army,  were  governed  by  per- 
sonal esteem  for  Cromwell.  As  a  worthy  Norfolk 
individual  looked  at  it,  "  There  is  a  principall  of  tyrany 
in  the  government,  and  were  not  his  person  better  then 
the  government,  we  should  soone  see  and  finde  what 
manner  of  government  wee  are  under  ".  '^  Others  prob- 
ably had  the  same  experience  as  Samuel  Richardson, 
who  at  the  outset  believed  that  the  title  of  Protector 
was  unlawful,  but  was  later  persuaded  by  arguments 
based  on  Scripture  that  it  was  not.'*  Like  Richardson, 
the  mass  of  Baptists  awaited  the  time  when  Cromwell 
should  find  it  possible  to  remove  the  abuses  which 
grieved  their  hearts.  But  by  the  end  of  the  year  1656 
they  had  begun  to  grow  impatient. 

Much  currency  had  been  given  to  a  report  that  Crom- 
well, at  the  beginning  of  his  Protectorate,  had  told 
Jessey,  the  Baptist  minister,  that  he  might  call  him 
juggler  if  tithes  were  not  taken  away  by  September  3, 
1654.  When  reproached  in  December  of  that  year  with 
having  broken  his  promise,  he  said  that  he  could  not 
remember  whether  he  had  said  such  a  thing  or  not,  but 
that  in  any  case  his  Council  was  against  the  taking  away 
of  tithes,  and  he  could  not  carry  it  against  such  oppo- 
sition.** When  he  opened  Parliament  in  the  fall  of 
1656,  his  anxiety  to  remove  tithes  was  not  con- 
s'R.  B.  to  ,  July  30,  i6ss,  Thurlo€,  III,  686. 

^  Plain  Dealing,    1656    (Thomason).     He   was  induced  to  change   his 
opinion  by  a  sermon  by  John  More  on  Nehemiah,  ix,  27. 

^B.  T.  to  ,  Clarke  Papers,  II,  xxxiv;   The  Protector,  So  called, 

In  Part  Unvailed;  A  looking  Glass  for,  or.  An  Awakening  Word  To, 
the  Superior  and  Inferior  Officers,  Oct.  22,  1656  (Thomason). 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  121 

spicuous.  Declaring  the  importance  of  a  state  mainte- 
nance of  the  ministry,  he  averred,  "  I  should  think  I 
were  very  treacherous  if  I  should  take  away  tithes,  till 
I  see  the  Legislative  power  to  settle  maintenance  to 
them  another  way  ".  Nor  did  he  make  it  a  strong  point 
with  Parliament  that  its  duty  was  to  discover  that  other 
way.^  Consequently  the  Baptists,  who  were  unable  to 
follow  Cromwell  in  his  gradual  change  of  attitude  on 
the  church  question,  began  to  complain." 

However,  no  discontent  was  immediately  apparent. 
At  an  assembly  of  General  Baptists  held  in  London  this 
same  month  it  was  decided  that  "  The  church  ought  to 
behave  herself  to  the  present  power  in  all  humility  to 
do  as  they  command  or  suffer  as  they  inflict,  in  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  men  willing  to  obey.  And  in  things 
concerning  Worshipe,  if  it  be  by  them  commanded  Con- 
trary to  God's  Law,  to  suffer  meekly  ".**  Certain  Welsh 
Baptist  churches,  too,  in  November  announced  that  it 
was  the  saints'  duty  to  be  subject  even  to  unrighteous 
government,  and  all  the  more  to  the  present  one,  which 
was  righteous.  They  should  pray  for  it  and  work  for 
it,  privately  admonishing,  but  not  publicly  rebuking, 
any  evil  tendencies  it  might  exhibit.'* 

But  when  the  proposal  to  adopt  monarchical  forms, 
often  meditated,  was  actually  adopted  by  Parliament 
and  urged  upon  the  Protector,  all  the  earlier  opposition 

**  Stainer,  Speeches,  240. 

"  "  The  Anabaptists  sayes  [sic]  you  are  a  perfidious  person,  and  that 
because  you  promised  them  att  a  certaine  day  to  take  away  tythes,  but 
did  not  perform  with  them."  Bradford  to  Cromwell,  March  4,  1656/7, 
Nickolls,  141. 

2s  Whitley,  ed.,  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  of  General  Baptist 
Churches,  I,  6. 

^^  An  Antidote  Against  the  Infection  of  the  Times,  Nov.  15,  1656 
(Thomason). 


122      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

to  those  forms  was  revived.  All  the  appurtenances  of 
monarchy  were  distasteful  to  these  folk,  who  were  con- 
stantly preaching  simplicity  of  life,  the  eschewing  of 
costly  apparel,  and  the  avoidance  of  pride  and  pomp/" 
Its  association  in  the  past  with  a  policy  of  intolerance 
in  religious  affairs  was  not  easily  forgotten,  and, 
finally,  the  reconstruction  of  that  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed in  the  wars  meant  to  them,  as  Cromwell  him- 
self expressed  it,  the  rebuilding  of  Jericho.^  When  the 
suggestion  for  a  return  to  kingship  was  made  in  Parlia- 
ment by  a  Presbyterian  member  in  January,  1657,  the 
denunciation  of  the  idea  by  Samuel  Highland  well  ex- 
pressed the  Baptist  attitude."'     Soon  after  the  revival 

*•  Epistle  dedicatory,  Confession  of  faith  of  the  Somerset  churches, 
Confessions  of  Faith  (Hanserd  Knollys  Soc),  67  ff. 

^1  Stainer,  Speeches,  304.  There  has  indeed  been  an  attempt  made  to 
represent  as  a  Baptist  movement  the  overtures  made  to  Charles  Stuart 
by  William  Howard  in  the  summer  of  1656.  Howard  was  a  Baptist,  a 
member  of  Knollys's  church,  and  had  adopted  the  views  of  the  Level- 
lers. Gardiner  points  out  that  the  terms  of  Howard's  propositions,  which 
demanded  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  abolition  of  tithes,  were  such 
as  would  be  likely  to  be  advanced  by  a  coalition  of  Baptists  and  Level- 
lers. One  would  almost  be  tempted  to  suspect  a  Fifth  Monarchy  element 
also,  from  the  verbiage  of  the  denunciation  of  "  that  grand  imposter, 
that  loathsom  hypocrite,  that  detestable  traitor,  that  prodigy  of  nature, 
that  opprobrium  of  mankind,  that  landskipp  of  iniquity,  that  sink  of  sin, 
and  that  compendium  of  baseness,  who  now  calls  himself  our  Pro- 
tector ".  It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  Howard  was  able  to  convert  some 
of  his  fellow  church-members  to  his  cause,  but  he  himself  attributes  the 
movement  to  the  Levellers,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  found  among  the 
Baptists  many  who,  setting  aside  their  views  on  monarchical  government, 
were  hopeful  of  civil  or  religious  betterment  from  Charles.  Gardiner, 
op.  cit.,  IV,  258;  Hexham  Records  (Hanserd  Knollys  Soc),  311,  321; 
Clarendon,  History  (ed.  Macray),  bk.  xv,  103.  Of  the  ten  signatures, 
two  certainly,  and  a  third  probably,  belong  to  Howard's  fellow  church- 
members. 

^  "  Are  you  now  going  to  set  up  kingly  government  which  for  these 
thousand  years  has  persecuted  the  people  of  God?  Do  you  expect  a  bet- 
ter consequence?  Do  you  expect  a  thanksgiving  day  upon  this?  This 
will  set  all  the  honest  people  of  this  nation  to  weeping  and  mourning.  I 
desire  the  motion  may  die  as  abominable."  Burton,  Diary,  I,  362,  cited 
by  Firth,  Last  Years  of  the  Protectorate,  I,  :2i. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  123 

of  the  idea  by  the  presentation  of  the  motion  by  Chris- 
topher Packe  rumors  arose  that  "  the  Anabaptist 
Churches  would  pubHsh  a  Manifesto  expressinge  theire 
disHke  of  present  proceedings  ",  and  that  Baptists  and 
Independents  were  assembhng  for  a  similar  purpose  at 
Hull  and  other  places."  That  these  rumors  were  not 
unfounded  appeared  in  due  course.  On  April  3  a  peti- 
tion was  presented  to  Cromwell,  signed  by  nineteen 
Baptist  ministers  of  London,  begging  him  not  to  yield 
to  the  proposed  apostasy  of  restoring  the  old  form  of 
government.  Such  a  step,  to  their  minds,  would  make 
the  glory  of  God  a  byword,  would  endanger  the  inter- 
ests of  God's  people  in  general,  irrespective  of  sect ; 
would  harden  the  hearts  and  strengthen  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  besides  grieving  the  hearts  of  the  most  faith- 
ful servants  of  the  commonwealth."  Among  the  sig- 
natures were  those  of  Jessey,  Knollys,  and  Spilsbury ; 
that  of  Kiffin,  however,  did  not  appear.  He  was  too 
closely  attached  to  the  court  party  to  take  a  step  which 
would  be  likely  to  embarrass  Cromwell.  Moreover,  he 
had  opposed  the  execution  of  Charles  I,  and  was  pre- 
sumably not  an  enemy  to  monarchy.*" 

Petitions  of  the  same  tenor  came  in  from  all  over 
the  country,  from  people  of  different  religious  affili- 
ations, but  the  really  important  opposition  came  from 
the  army.  Here  also  the  Baptists  were  at  the  fore. 
Despite  the  long-continued  complaints  of  the  cashiering 
of  Baptists,  there  was  a  goodly  number  of  them  left, 
and,  as  one  observer  remarked,  they  made  up  in  relig- 

*^  Bridges  to  Henry  Cromwell,  March  10,  1656/7,  Lansdowne  MSS., 
821,  fol.  326;  Bordeaux  despatch,  March  12/22,  Harleian  MSS.,  4549, 
fol.  51. 

■*■'  Nickolls,  142. 

*'  Allen  to  Baxter,  May  30,  1659,  Baxter  Correspondence,  IV,  fol.  187. 


124      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

ious  zeal  what  they  lacked  in  numbers."  And  it  would 
not  be  far  from  the  truth  to  say  that  in  every  Baptist 
soldier  there  was  an  opponent  of  monarchy.  Thomas 
Cooper,  the  eminent  Baptist,  who  was  well-known  as  a 
supporter  of  Cromwell,  voiced  his  disapproval  of  the 
project  while  it  was  in  debate.  However,  after  the 
offer  of  the  crown,  he  decided  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
bow  to  the  inevitable,  and  consequently  he  joined  the 
g-roup  which  on  March  30  went  to  express  its  agree- 
ment." Cromwell,  understanding  the  scruples  of  men 
who,  like  Cooper,  were  subordinating  their  own  views  to 
what  seemed  the  good  of  the  state,  as  well  as  of  those 
who,  in  the  army  and  without,  were  addressing  him 
against  the  kingship,  based  his  objections  to  assuming 
the  crown  on  their  position.  He  begged  "  that  there 
may  be  no  hard  thing  put  upon  them,  things  I  mean 
hard  to  them,  that  they  cannot  swallow  ".  "  During  the 
next  fortnight,  however,  under  pressure  of  the  argu- 
ments of  the  lawyers  who  believed  there  could  be  no 
satisfactory  settlement  unless  he  accepted  the  change 
of  title,  his  objections  were  over-ridden,  and  he  was 
apparently  on  the  eve  of  returning  a  favorable  answer 
when  news  of  the  continued  opposition  in  the  army 
made  him  return  to  his  earlier  position.  The  petition 
in  which  the  army  opposition  found  its  final  expression 
was  the  product  of  combined  Independent  and  Baptist 
activity.  It  was  drawn  up  by  John  Owen,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Pride  and  Desborough,  and  was  presented 
to  Parliament  by  John  Mason,  Pride's  lieutenant- 
colonel,  a  Baptist  who  secured  its  twenty-six  or  twenty- 

*«  Bordeaux    despatch,    May    18/28,    1657,    Harleian    MSS.,    4549,    fol. 
104  b. 
"Firth,  op.  cit.,  I,   150. 
**  Stainer,  Speeches,  301. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  125 

seven  signatures,  chiefly  among  his  co-rehgionists."' 
Fleetwood,  Desborough,  and  Lambert  had  already  in- 
formed Cromwell  that  if  he  accepted  the  crown  they 
would  withdraw  from  public  employment. 

Unwilling  to  face  the  defection  of  his  soldiers  and 
generals,  Cromwell  refused  the  crown :  thus  failed  the 
attempt  to  replace  the  Protectorate  by  a  monarchy 
through  peaceful  means.  It  would  of  course  be  easy 
to  exaggerate  the  part  played  by  the  Baptists  in  bring- 
ing about  Cromwell's  refusal.  It  must  be  realized  that 
it  was  the  separatists  generally  who  objected  to  the 
title  of  king,  and  not  only  to  that,  but  also  to  the  pro- 
posed state  church,  with  a  creed  and  fixed  limitations  on 
toleration,  which  was  provided  for  by  the  Petition  and 
Advice.  But  the  opposition  of  no  other  single  element 
was  so  conspicuous,  and  the  protest  of  the  London  min- 
isters is  especially  noteworthy  in  that,  despite  the  talk 
of  "  Anabaptist "  disaffection,  it  was  the  first  Baptist 
protest  addressed  to  Cromwell  which  bore  anything  like 
an  official  stamp. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to 
settle  the  crown  on  Cromwell  that  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
men  were  again  heard  from.  It  has  been  shown  above 
that  the  time  when  they  expected  the  Protectorate  to 
come  to  an  end  was  the  middle  of  June.  A  meeting  of 
Fifth  Monarchy  men  held  a  short  time  before  that 
date  was  broken  up  by  soldiers,  and  some  of  those 
present  imprisoned.  A  protest  against  this  treatment 
stated  that  these  brethren  had  been  engaged  in  prepar- 
ation for  the  Bridegroom's  coming,  "  And  not  .  .  .  plot- 
ting or  contriving  in  a  way  of  Treachery  or  Designe 

"Firth,  op.  cit.,  I,  191,  192;  Bordeaux  despatch,  May  18/28,  1657, 
Ilarleian  MSS.,  4549,  fol.  104  b. 


126      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

against  any  City,  Town  or  Castle  ;  the  Lives,  the  Blood, 
the  Persons  of  any  ".  Such  actions  they  characterized 
as  "  base  and  abundantly  below  our  Principles  ".  To  the 
charge  that  they  had  arms,  they  replied  that  "  although 
our  Brethren,  our  selves,  neither  it  may  be  you,  see  a 
call  to  be  shedding  the  blood  of  any,  or  even  the  most 
vile  and  wicked,  at  present ",  the  saints  were  justified 
in  defending  themselves  against  the  attacks  of  those 
who  would  hinder  their  work,  and  experience  had 
shown  the  possibility  of  such  attack.  Moreover  they 
held  that  the  Lord's  messengers  should  go  armed  in 
order  to  show  their  strength/" 

On  the  same  day  that  this  disclaimer  appeared,  word 
came  to  Thurloe  that  Harrison,  Feake,  Canne,  and 
Rogers  were  holding  meetings  in  which  they  professed 
themselves  ready  for  an  insurrection,  saying  that  the 
three  and  a  half  years  of  the  witnesses'  lying  dead  was 
past.'^  Even  if  the  intentions  of  these  men  were  as  far 
from  warlike  as  the  paper  just  quoted  tried  to  make 
them  appear,  such  reports  are  easily  understood,  if  at 
the  meetings  such  language  was  used  as  Rogers  em- 
ployed in  a  pamphlet  issued  the  month  following.  It 
abounded  in  sentiments  such  as  these :  "  Is  it  not  high 
time  for  the  two  Witnesses  to  be  uniting,  stirring  and 
rising  .  .  .  the  man  among  the  myrtle  trees  (Zech.  i, 
8)  on  his  red  horse  is  already  mounted  .  .  .  and  the 
slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be  many  (Isa.  Ixvi,  i6).  Yea, 
and  after  the  harvest  (wherein  I  hope  to  be  a  reaper,  a 
cutter  down  or  a  gatherer  in)  the  blood  of  the  vintage 

^A  Witnes  to  the  Saints  in  England  and  Wales,  June  15,  1657 
(Thomason).  Specific  reference  is  given  to  the  interruption  of  the 
funeral  services  of  Pendarvis  at  Abingdon.     See  above,  note  26. 

°^  Information,  June  15,  1657,  Thurloe,  VI,  349. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  127 

will  be  up  to  the  horses'  bridles  (Rev.  xiv,  20).  .  .  .  Let 
us  up  together  all  at  once  and  fall  on  all  at  once 
(Numb,  xiii,  30)  with  one  mind,  as  one  man  (Zeph. 
iii,  9).  Appoint  the  day,  appropriate  the  duty,  and  to  it." 
He  warned  the  faithful,  however,  that  "  At  present  I 
am  to  bid  them  Beware  and  Prepare  ;  beware  of  run- 
ning- before  orders  come  from  Jehovah  of  Armies,  and 
prepare  for  them  when  they  come,  yea,  to  make  all  their 
arrows  ready  against  Babylon  ". " 

While  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  were  waiting  for  the 
sign,  the  Baptists,  pleased  with  the  failure  of  the  king- 
ship project,  were  silent,  although  disapproving  of  the 
ceremonial  by  which  the  second  Protectorate  was  in- 
augurated. In  army  circles,  also,  quiet  reigned.  Even 
those  most  suspected  of  dissatisfaction  showed  rather 
"  satisfaction  than  otherwise  ",  concealing  displeasure 
if  they  felt  any.°^  In  December  Thurloe  scouted  as 
negligible  reports  of  discontent  which  had  come  to  the 
ears  of  Lockhart  in  Paris:  if  there  were  anything  in 
them,  he  maintained,  it  would  disappear  before  the 
renewed  activities  of  the  Royalists,  "  for  whatever  they 
dififer  upon,  they  will  agree  against  Ch.  Stuart  and 
his  party,  that  is  certain  ".°* 

The  appearance  of  calm  was,  however,  deceptive.  It 
was  impossible  that  the  sectaries  would  long  endure 
without  protest  government  according  to  the  Humble 
Petition  and  Advice,  with  its  provisions  for  a  state 
church,  supported  by  tithes,  and  its  limited  toleration. 
And  the  situation  was  altered  with  the  assembling  of 

^"^  Jegar  Sahadutha,  July  28,  1657,  cited  in  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  295- 
299. 

=3  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  July  17,  28,  1657,  Thurloe,  VI,  412, 
425. 

"Thurloe  to  Lockhart,  Dec.   14,  1657,  Thurloe,  VI,  676. 


128      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Parliament  in  January,  1658.  The  admission  of  the 
members  excluded  by  the  Council  at  the  beginning  of 
its  first  session,  together  with  the  transfer  of  some  of 
Cromwell's  warmest  supporters  to  the  new  second 
chamber,  had  made  the  House  of  Commons,  to  borrow 
Masson's  effective  phrase,  strongly  anti-Oliverian.  A 
body  with  markedly  republican  principles,  it  showed 
especial  hostility  to  the  newly-established  House  of 
Lords,  and  to  any  dominance  of  military  influence. 
Encouraged  by  the  tone  of  speeches  made  there,  the  op- 
ponents of  the  Protectorate  began  to  bestir  themselves. 
A  petition  was  prepared  for  presentation  to  the 
Commons,  the  "  Other  House "  being  ignored.  It 
stated  that  the  late  king  had  been  executed  for  four 
things :  usurping  the  powers  of  Parliament  and  the 
control  of  the  militia,  abrogating  the  laws,  and  raising 
money  without  the  consent  of  Parliament.  The  peti- 
tioners begged  that  these  four  abuses  should  not  be 
allowed  to  return,  and  suggested  measures  of  pre- 
vention. The  substance  of  these  measures  was :  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  government  in  which  a  Parliament  of 
one  chamber  should  be  supreme,  and  which  would 
allow  no  oppression  to  tender  consciences,  and  no  cash- 
iering of  officers  except  by  a  council  of  war.  Thus  the 
petition  combined  the  demands  of  the  Commonwealth 
party,  the  sectaries,  and  the  army.  Its  later  history 
shows  that  it  was  promoted  in  part  at  least  by  Bap- 
tists.°°  The  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  too,  assisted  in  the 
movement,  and  their  churches  recommenced  their  at- 
tacks on  Cromwell.  Rogers,  among  other  things,  held 
him  up  for  execration  for  having  as  his  only  ally  the 

"  A  True  Copy  of  a  Petition  .  .  .  intended  to  have  been  delivered  to 
the  late  Parliament,  March  ii,  1657/8  (Thomason).    See  below,  pp.  173  ff. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  129 

"  Jesuit "  Mazarin,  and  for  marrying  one  of  his 
daughters  into  a  Cathohc  family.""  The  petition  was 
printed  and  circulated,  and  thousands  of  signatures 
obtained.  The  plan  was  that  it  should  be  presented  by 
a  committee  of  some  twenty  of  the  signatories,  and  the 
anti-Oliverians  in  the  House  expected  to  utilize  it  as 
the  ground  for  a  debate  on  the  establishment  of  a 
republic  and  the  recall  of  the  Long  Parliament." 

The  movement  for  the  petition  was  a  matter  of  com- 
mon knowledge.  While  it  was  going  on  came  news 
of  Royalist  activity,  and  information  that  some  of  the 
members  of  the  House  were  in  actual  correspondence 
with  Charles,  while  others  were  tampering  with  the 
loyalty  of  the  army.°^  Throughout  all  this  the  Com- 
mons, instead  of  taking  steps  to  raise  supplies  for  the 
pressing  necessities  of  the  government,  were  spending 
their  days  trying  to  decide  whether  or  no  they  should 
recognize  the  "  Other  House  ".  The  day  fixed  for  the 
presentation  of  the  petition  was  February  4,  and  Crom- 
well saw  that  he  must  act.  On  February  3  he  gave  orders 
for  the  arrest  of  Hugh  Courtney,  John  Rogers,  and  John 
Portman,  and  their  imprisonment  in  the  Tower  until 
further  orders,  "  for  attempting  to  disaffect  and  exas- 
perate the  hearts  and  spirits  of  the  people,  so  that 
thereby  they  might  bring  the  nation  again  into  blood  ".'" 
On  the  following  day  he  summarily  dissolved  Parlia- 
ment.    A  few  days  later  he  assembled  two  hundred 

''o  Bordeaux  to  Mazarin,  Feb.  4/14,  1657/8,  Thurloe,  VII,  778;  same 
to  same,  Feb.  8/18,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts;  Smith  to  Cromwell,  Feb.  11, 
1657/8,  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  57,  fol.  312. 

'•Firth,  op.  cit.,  II,  33-34;  Catterall,  in  Am.  Hist.  Rev.,  IX,  52-53. 

^^  Stainer,  Speeches,  396-397. 

»»  Warrant,  Feb.  3,  1657/8,  Thurloe,  VI,  77s;  to  Hobart,  Feb.  12, 

Eng.  Hist.  Rev.,  VII,  107  ff. 


130      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

officers,  and  made  them  a  speech  two  hours  long.  Find- 
ing in  his  own  regiment  of  horse  six  Baptist  officers 
who  refused  to  be  convinced  that  his  government  was 
a  righteous  one,  he  told  them  that  it  was  not  for  their 
own  good  or  for  the  safety  of  the  nation  that  they  should 
remain  in  the  army  under  such  circumstances,  and  de- 
prived them  of  their  commissions.  The  Council  of 
Officers,  headed  by  Fleetwood,  presented  him  with  a 
loyal  address ;  similar  addresses  came  from  Scotland, 
and  the  danger  from  army  discontent  was  again  dis- 
pelled."" 

In  dealing  with  members  of  the  army,  Cromwell 
could  in  general  count  upon  that  sentiment  of  loyalty 
and  admiration  which  they  felt  for  the  great  com- 
mander who  had  organized  the  parliamentary  forces 
and  had  led  them  to  victory.  This  was  not  the  case 
when  he  faced  the  opposition  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
men,  and  they  were  making  strenuous  efforts  to  lessen 
his  influence  upon  the  people.  When  Courtney  was 
arrested  on  the  day  preceding  the  dissolution  of  Par- 
liament, there  were  found  in  his  room  certain  pamph- 
lets, enclosed  in  letters  and  directed  to  people  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country."  They  were  all  attacks  upon 
the  government,  and  one  was  a  publication  of  very 
recent  date.  It  was  addressed  to  the  "  Lord's  faith- 
full  Remnant  ",  and  called  upon  them  to  unite,  in  these 
days  of  apostasy.  The  authors  expressed  approval  of 
the  principles  and  work  of  the  authors  of  A  Standard 
Set  Up,  that  is,  of  Venner's  party,  except  that  they 
did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  lay  down  in  advance  the 

^"Clarke  Papers,  III,  139  ff-;  Thurloe,  VI,  786,  789,  793,  806. 
^^  Mercurius  Politicus,   Feb.   4-1 1,    1657/8;   Publick  Intelligencer,   Feb. 
8-15. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  131 

details  of  the  coming  government,  but  were  willing  to 
leave  that  to  the  "  Instruments  which  the  Lord  shall 
set  up  over  his  people  ".  They  believed  that  before  the 
personal  appearance  of  Christ  all  other  kingdoms  would 
be  destroyed  and  the  Jews  brought  in.  Then  came  an 
attack  on  Cromwell's  "  usurpation ",  his  triers,  his 
arbitrary  actions,  his  negative  voice,  his  control  of  the 
forces,  his  dissolution  of  parliaments,  illegal  imprison- 
ments, foreign  expeditions,  trade  monopolies,  control 
of  the  press,  continuation  of  tithes.  Cromwell's  gov- 
ernment was  likened  to  that  of  Charles  I,  and  the  asser- 
tion was  made  that  the  Lord  had  manifested  his  dis- 
pleasure through  the  failure  of  the  expeditions  to  the 
West  Indies  and  the  Straits.  Cromwell  had  been  deaf 
to  all  witness  made  against  him,  and  it  had  become  the 
duty  of  Christians  to  declare  against  him  and  the 
instruments  of  his  tyranny.  Though  there  were  differ- 
ences of  opinion  among  the  Lord's  people  as  to  the  time 
of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom,  they  were  agreed  "  to 
Arme  against,  resist,  and  openly  oppose  them,  and  do 
our  utmost  endeavour  to  force  the  power  out  of  their 
hands,  and  bring  them  to  condigne  punishment  upon 
the  score  of  the  blood  of  the  Saints,  Martyrs,  and 
Prophets  of  Jesus,  as  it  was  by  them  in  the  like  Case 
done  to  the  late  King :  this  being  the  only  visible  means 
appointed  by  the  Lord  to  destroy  the  Beast  with  his 
supporters  ".^  The  same  spirit  that  pervaded  this 
effusion  presided  over  the  pulpits  of  the  party.     The 

«2  Some  Considerations  by  way  of  Proposall  and  Conclusion,  Humbly 
Tendered  for  the  satisfying  and  uniting  of  all  the  Faithfull  in  this  Day, 
whose  hearts  are  groaning  and  sighing  for  the  deliverance  of  Zion,  and 
appearance  of  her  King,  and  desiring  to  separate  from  this  wicked  and 
Adulterous  Generation.  This  pamphlet  did  not  come  into  Thomason's 
hands  until  March  9,  more  than  a  month  after  copies  were  found  in 
Courtney's  possession. 


132      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

support  promised  to  Cromwell  by  the  City  on  March 
15  formed  the  subject  of  a  discourse  by  Cornet  Day. 
He  maintained  that  this  action  would  be  the  cause  of 
much  bloodshed,  and  that  Cromwell  was  no  magistrate 
or  governor,  but  a  juggler,  who  deserved  to  be  sawn  in 
pieces.""  On  the  first  of  April  the  Coleman  Street  meet- 
ing was  broken  up  by  the  Lord  Mayor's  guard,  and 
some  of  the  congregation  carried  off  to  prison.  Among 
them  were  Day,  Canne,  and  Feake.  Feake  was  fresh 
from  imprisonment  in  the  Tower,  and  had  shortly  be- 
fore been  airing  to  an  audience  in  the  church  of 
Martin's  Vintry  his  grievances  on  that  subject,  and 
attacking,  as  usual,  Cromwell  and  his  government." 

One  disquieting  feature  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  agi- 
tation at  this  time  was  the  apparent  drawing  together 
of  Fifth  Monarchy  men  and  Baptists.  In  the  week 
preceding  the  imprisonment  of  Courtney  the  story 
appeared  in  the  newspapers,  with  jesting  references  to 
the  temerity  of  the  act  in  view  of  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather,  that  he,  with  Harrison  and  his  wife  and  John 
Carew,  had  just  undergone  the  rite  of  baptism.  The 
possible  efifect  of  the  entrance  into  Baptist  ranks  oi 
three  such  unyielding  opponents  of  the  Cromwellian 
regime  was  not  to  be  overlooked."^  This  was  especially 
the  case  now  that  the  Baptists  were  actually,  as  organi- 
zations, showing  an  interest  in  the  political  situation. 

«  Information,  March  18,  22,  1657/8,  Thurloe,  VII,  5,  18. 

**  Newsletter,  April  3,  1658,  Clarke  Papers,  III,  146;  Canne,  Narrative 
wherein  is  set  forth  the  sufferings  of  John  Canne  and  Wentworth  Day. 
Before  the  magistrates  Day  insisted  that  if  allowed  he  could  prove 
Cromwell  juggler  by  his  own  confession,  in  the  old  matter  of  taking 
away  tithes. 

*^  Publick  Intelligencer,  Feb.  1-8,  1637/8;  Henry  Cromwell  to  Falcon- 
bridge,  Feb.  17,  Thurloe,  VI,  810;  same  to  Broghill,  n.  d.,  ibid.,  790; 
Bordeaux  to   Brienne,   Feb.    15/25,   Harleian  MSS.,   4549,   fol.    339. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  133 

It  is  not  surprising  that  precautions  were  taken  to  dis- 
cover what  was  done  at  a  general  assembly  of  Baptists 
which  was  held  at  Dorchester  in  May.  Among  those 
present  were  William  Kiffin,  Richard  Deane  of  the 
navy,  John  Carew,  and  two  Baptist  officers  from  Ire- 
land— Captain  Vernon  and  Adjutant-general  Allen. 
At  the  first  day's  meeting  about  three  hundred  persons 
were  present.  Letters  were  read  from  the  different 
churches,  giving  accounts  of  their  condition  and  asking 
about  the  condition  of  others.  This  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  this  "  time  of  apostacy  and  perse- 
cution ",  At  the  second  meeting,  in  the  afternoon,  there 
was  prayer  and  preaching.  The  prayers  contained  com- 
plaints of  the  "  bonds  and  sufferings  of  the  saints,  .  .  . 
the  time  of  Syon's  affliction,  wherein  those  that  have 
beene  glorious  lights  on  the  right  and  left  hand,  are 
shutt  up  in  bonds  ".  The  petition  was  made  that  "  in 
order  to  there  deliverance,  God  would  put  a  hooke  into 
the  nostrills  of,  and  destroy  him,  who  is  the  enemy  of 
God  and  his  people  ".  Another  meeting  was  devoted  to 
the  discussion  of  purely  religious  matters.  Then  at  a 
private  meeting  of  the  leading  men  there  was  carried 
on  a  discussion  concerning  the  advisability  of  joining 
the  Fifth  Monarchy  party,  but  owing  to  the  efforts  of 
Kiffin,  the  proposition  was  not  carried  at  that  sitting. 
Whether  the  discussion  was  renewed  at  a  later  meeting 
the  government  agents  were  not  able  to  discover."" 

When  matters  had  reached  the  point  where  a  gen- 
eral assembly  of  Baptist  churches  was  seriously  con- 
sidering affiliation  with  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party, 
Cromwell   felt  justified,  apparently,   in  taking  action 

«>Croke  to  Coplestone,  May   15,   1658,  Thurlo€,  VII,   138  flf. 


134      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

against  them  as  a  political  body.  At  any  rate  he 
adopted,  for  an  outlying  part  of  his  dominions,  where 
the  Baptists  were  not  strong  enough  to  make  their  re- 
sentment at  his  course  dangerous,  a  policy  that  had  the 
additional  advantage  of  winning  the  approval  of  the 
Presbyterians.  The  Protector's  instructions  to  the 
Council  in  Scotland,  issued  on  June  lo,  included  the 
direction  "to  see  that  no  Baptist  holds  any  office  of 
trust,  nor  practices  at  law,  nor  keeps  a  school "."  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Baptists  in  Scotland  did 
not  express  concern  at  his  illness  during  the  succeed- 
ing months,  but  appeared  to  nourish  "  dark  hopes  ".°* 

Whether,  if  he  had  lived,  Cromwell  would  eventually 
have  used  toward  the  Baptists  in  England  any  policy 
savoring  so  much  of  persecution  on  the  ground  of  re- 
ligion, we  can  only  surmise.  However,  his  growing 
conservatism  in  the  matter  of  a  state  church  would  cer- 
tainly have  meant  the  continued  widening  of  the  breach 
between  him  and  that  body.  On  the  great  point  of 
liberty  of  conscience  his  belief  remained  unchanged, 
and  we  have  the  curious  anomaly  of  the  most  tolerant 
man  of  his  age  going  down  to  his  grave  at  odds  with 
the  two  bodies  of  Englishmen  which  advocated  the 
widest  religious  liberty.*"  Yet  not  entirely  at  odds. 
From  the  outset  certain  individuals  among  the  Baptists 
had  been  among  the  most  uncompromising  of  his 
critics.  Certain  features  in  his  policy  had  made  it  pos- 
sible for  these  few  to  influence  more  and  more  widely 

87  Cal.  St.  p.,  Dom.,  1658-1659,  61.  The  relations  of  the  Baptists  with 
the  Remonstrant  party  evidently  played  a  part  in  this  affair.  See  Beake 
to  Baxter,  Oct.   16,  1657,  Baxter  Correspondence,  I,  fol.   12. 

•s  Langley  to  Thurloe,  Sept.  4,  1658,  Thurloe,  VII,  371;  Pittiloh, 
Hammer  of  Persecution,  1659  (Thomason). 

**  Baptists  and  Quakers. 


KINGDOM  BUILDING  135 

their  fellow  church-members,  until  the  suspicions  thus 
engendered  had  made  it  possible  that  the  question  of 
opposition  should  be  seriously  considered  in  a  general 
council  of  the  church.  But  the  hold  that  Cromwell 
had  upon  the  hearts  of  religious  men  was  a  strong  one, 
and  there  were  many  Baptists  in  England,  besides  those 
who  were  his  personal  friends,  who,  when  he  had 
breathed  his  last,  considered  with  Steele's  emotion 
"  those  ejaculatory  breathings  of  his  soule  for  the 
blessing  of  love  and  union  amongst  the  servants  of  God, 
amidst  their  various  administrations,  particularly  pray- 
ing for  them,  that  were  angry  with  him  ".  And  surely 
all  could  share  Steele's  feeling  of  gratitude  that,  leav- 
ing the  world,  he  left  "  these  nations  in  peace,  which 
had  been  so  much  imbroyled  in  trouble  and  misery  "/" 

™  Steele   to   Thurloe,    Sept.    i6,    1658,    Thurloe,    VII,    388.      See   also 
Thomas  Cooper  to  Henry  Cromwell,  ibid.,  425. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Ireland  and  the  Protectorate. 

In  Ireland,  the  opposition  to  the  Protectorate  came 
chiefly  from  Baptist  ranks.  Although  some  of  the 
leading  Baptists  in  Ireland  were  also  Fifth  Monarchy 
men,  that  party  does  not  seem  to  have  had  any  distinct 
organization  there.  In  one  way  this  makes  the  situa- 
tion for  the  purposes  of  our  study  a  simpler  one.  How- 
ever, certain  features  of  the  position  of  the  Baptists  in 
Ireland,  both  in  relation  to  the  government  and  to 
other  sects,  make  the  story  of  their  activities  there 
somewhat  complicated.^ 

It  was  natural  that  under  Cromwell  and  Ireton  the 
Independents  and  Baptists  should  have  been  put  into 
places  of  trust,  and  under  Fleetwood  this  tendency  con- 
tinued, in  an  intensified  fomi,  until,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  extreme  Independents  like  Fleetwood,  Ludlow, 
Jones,  and  Hewson,  practically  the  whole  administra- 
tion came  to  be  in  the  hands  of  Baptists.  A  well- 
informed  Independent  complained  in  the  fall  of  1655 
that  he  knew  of  at  least  twelve  governors  of  towns  and 

^  As  Mr.  Firth  says  in  his  chapter  on  this  subject,  the  term  Anabaptist 
was  used  loosely  for  all  the  extreme  sectaries,  here  as  in  England. 
Last  Years  of  the  Protectorate,  II,  126.  For  his  purpose  it  was  not  worth 
while  to  distinguish  between  this  loose  use  and  its  exact  use  to  apply  to 
Baptists  only.  However,  it  is  quite  possible  in  most  cases  to  make  the 
distinction.  For  example,  Hewson,  who  was  closely  associated  with  the 
Baptists,  and  whose  opposition  to  the  Protectorate  was  based  on  much 
the  same  grounds,  was  never  called  an  Anabaptist  by  those  who  used 
the  term  exactly. 

136 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  137 

cities,  ten  colonels,  three  or  four  lieutenant-colonels, 
ten  majors,  nineteen  or  twenty  captains,  two  salaried 
preachers,  and  twenty-three  officers  on  the  civil  list, 
who  were  Baptists."  There  were  ten  Baptist  churches, 
and  two  of  the  ministers,  Thomas  Patient  and  Chris- 
topher Blackwood,  ranked  among  the  ablest  preachers 
of  the  day/  Patient  had  a  lectureship  in  the  cathedral 
at  Dublin,  and  some  idea  of  his  abilities  may  be  gained 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  able,  by  opposition 
direct  and  indirect,  to  cause  the  redoubtable  John 
Rogers  to  give  up  his  position  there  and  return  to 
England  in  disgust.* 

The  Baptists  were  not  merely  numerous ;  they  were 
also  extremely  unpopular.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  be 
able  to  prove  that  when  in  positions  of  power  they  were 
an  exception  to  Cromwell's  accusation  that  of  those 
who  pled  for  liberty  of  conscience  none  were  willing  to 
give  it.  Unfortunately,  the  testimony  against  them  on 
this  point  is  unanimous.  "  I  had  great  opposition  in 
this  citty  "  wrote  Edward  Burrough  the  Quaker,  from 
Waterford,  "  twice  opposed  by  the  Rulers,  which  are 
Baptists  .  .  .  generally  the  Rulers  in  this  nation  are 
Baptists,  but  are  seated  in  Darknes,  and  takes  their 
ease  in  the  flesh,  upon  their  lofty  mountaine,  and  have 
turned  their  victory  into  their  owne  exaltinge."  °  This 
was  in  a  private  letter,  while  he  publicly  proclaimed  to 
the  Baptists :   "  You  are  as  bitter  and  envious,  in  blind 

*  Dr.  Harrison  to  Thurloe,  Oct.  17,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  90-91.  It  was 
even  said  that  soldiers  were  re-baptized  as  tlie  way  to  preferment. 
Reliquae  Baxterianae,  I,  74. 

'Vernon  to  London  churches,  June,  1653,  Ivimey,  History  of  the 
English  Baptists,  1,  240  fT. 

*  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  29  ff. 

■>  E.  Burrough  to  Margaret  Fell,  5  of  11  mo.  1655,  Swarthmore  letters, 
789. 


138      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

zeale  as  the  prophane  world;  against  any  that  differs 
from  you  in  Judgement  .  .  .  witness  at  Dublin,  Kil- 
kenny, Corke,  and  else  where,  where  the  Servants  of 
the  Lord  were  haled  out  of  your  Assemblies  and  evill 
entreated,  with  mockings  and  cruell  words,  to  your 
shame  forever  may  this  be  rehearsed."  * 

Due  weight  must  be  given  in  this  connection  to  the 
fact  that  the  Quakers  were  the  most  troublesome  people 
of  their  generation,  and  that  they  were  prosecuted,  not 
merely  for  their  religious  opinions,  but  as  disturbers  of 
the  peace.  Moreover,  a  particular  animosity  between 
the  Baptists  and  the  Quakers  resulted  from  the  fact  that 
the  ranks  of  the  latter  were  very  largely  recruited  from 
among  the  former."  But  the  Quakers  were  not  the 
only  witnesses  against  Baptist  intolerance.  One  pastor 
wrote  of  "  the  overflowing  interest  of  those,  that  en- 
deavoured (what  in  them  lay)  to  null  all  churches, 
ordinances,  and  ministers  .  .  .  which  were  not  baptized 
into  the  same  spirit  and  way  with  themselves ".' 
Another  maintained  that  "  if  any  Governor,  or  any 
in  the  least  command  become  Anabaptists,  they  become 
most  cruel  tyrants  ".^    A  critic  in  1659  felt  that  "  the 

*  To  you  that  are  called  Anabaptists  in  the  nation  of  Ireland,  Teachers 
and  People,  who  profess  yourselves  to  be  the  Church  of  Christ,  1657 
(Devonshire  House  tracts). 

^  Goadby,  Baptists  and  Quakers  in  Northamptonshire,  13.  A  Quaker 
estimate  of  Baptist  tolerance  is  interesting:  "  And  if  we  search  out  your 
toleration  to  the  bottom,  it  will  be  reduced  to  this  Compasse,  That  none 
shall  be  tolerated  but  those  that  say  as  you  say,  and  professe  what  you 
prof  esse;  and  you  among  your  selves  are  as  a  kingdom  divided  that 
cannot  stand,  and  you  are  not  they  which  are  fit  to  Rule  in  the  Nation  to 
prescribe  Liberty  nor  give  Toleration."  Hubberthorne,  Answer  to  a 
Declaration,   1659   (Devonshire  House  tracts). 

*  T.  Taylor  to  Cromwell,  Carrickfergus,  Dec.  16,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV, 
286. 

*  R.  Easthorpe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  June  11,  1657,  Lansdowne  MSS., 
822,  fol.  86. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  139 

hard  treatment  the  Papists  in  Ireland  have  found,  and 
the  Presbyterian  Scots  in  the  North  part  of  the  same 
Kingdome  have  lately  received  from  that  party,  make 
all  other  infinitely  dissatisfied  in  their  acquiring  any 
power  over  them  ". 

When  all  allowance  is  made  for  exaggeration  and 
personal  bias,  citations  like  these  make  it  evident  that 
the  Baptists,  deservedly  or  undeservedly,  had  so  carried 
themselves  as  to  become  extremely  unpopular  with  the 
men  whose  religious  ideas  differed  from  their  own.  It 
would  have  been  against  human  nature  for  these  men 
not  to  make  as  much  as  possible  of  Baptist  disaffection, 
and  to  side  with  the  force  which  meant  the  lessening  of 
their  authority. 

Another  complicating  feature  of  the  Irish  situation 
was  the  question  of  the  transplantation.  Fleetwood 
believed  thoroughly  in  the  system  by  which  the  Irish 
were  being  ruthlessly  driven  from  their  lands,  and  the 
officers,  who  were  profiting  by  it,  naturally  did  not  care 
to  have  it  interfered  with.  It  was  the  Baptist  governor 
of  Waterford,  Richard  Lawrence,  who  publicly  de- 
fended the  system  against  the  attacks  of  Gookin  and 
Petty,  and  the  latter  cited  a  number  of  Baptists  as 
active  in  opposing  his  work.  This  element  of  self- 
interest  cannot  be  ignored  in  a  consideration  of  the 
struggle  to  retain  Fleetwood  as  the  director  of  Irish 
affairs." 

In  Ireland,  as  in  England,  the  dissolution  of  the  Lit- 
tle Parliament  had  been  regarded  with  dismay  by  the 
sectaries.    The  establishment  of  the  Protectorate  called 

^0  Interest  of  England  Stated,  1659  (Thomason). 

"Petty,  Rejections,  88  ff.;  Fleetwood  to  Thurloe,  June  2,  1654,  May 
23,  i6ss,  Thurloe,  II,  343,  HI.  468. 


140      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

forth  open  criticism,  and  there  was  talk  of  a  pubhc 
protest.  Grave  rumors  of  dissatisfaction  among  the 
officers  come  to  Cromwell's  ears,  and  he  finally  sent  his 
son  Henry  to  investigate  the  situation."  By  the  time 
Henry  arrived,  the  Baptists  of  Dublin  had  received  a 
letter  from  three  of  the  Baptist  ministers  in  London, 
beseeching  them  to  be  subject  to  the  government,  thus 
doing  their  duty  as  Christians,  and  showing  the  world 
that  it  was  wrong  in  considering  Baptists  enemies  of 
magistracy."  This  letter,  and  the  timely  summoning  to 
England  of  two  of  the  grumblers,  together  with  the 
presence  of  Henry,  had  considerable  effect,  and  in 
March  Henry  was  able  to  report  that  all  were  satisfied, 
"  unless  it  be  some  few  inconsiderable  persons  of  the 
anabaptiste  judgment,  who  are  allsoe  quiett,  though 
not  verry  well  contented  ".  He  thought  that  the  diffi- 
culty lay  in  the  encouragement  they  had  been  given  by 
the  deportment  of  some  of  those  in  power,  notably 
Ludlow  and  John  Jones.  The  former  had  been  espe- 
cially courted  by  the  Baptists,  since  his  refusal  to  own 
the  Protectorate,  and  had  been  admitted  to  their  private 
meetings.  Henry  thought  that  Fleetwood,  also,  had 
been  too  much  inclined  to  favor  the  Baptists,  though 
rather  "  from  tenderness  than  love  to  their  prin- 
ciples "." 

The  Baptists  whom  Henry  referred  to  as  quiet, 
though  not  contented,  were  evidently  Quartermaster- 
general  John  Vernon,  Adjutant-general  William  Allen, 
Colonel  Philip  Carteret,  and  Colonel  Richard  Law- 
rence, the  brother  of  the  president  of  the  Council  of 

^  See  Gardiner,  Commonwealth  and  Protectorate,  III,  lo. 
"  See  above,  pp.  57-58. 

"Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  March  8,  1653/4,  Thurloe,  II,  149; 
Lloyd  to  Thurloe,  March  13,  ibid.,  163. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  141 

State.  The  attitude  taken  by  these  men  was  well  set 
forth  in  a  long-  and  rambling  letter,  abounding  in  cita- 
tions from  Scripture,  which  Vernon  wrote  at  this  time 
to  his  old  comrade-at-arms,  now  at  the  head  of  the 
state.  He  reminded  Cromwell  how  he  had  been  blessed 
in  the  days  when  he  had  avoided  honors,  and  contrasted 
with  that  early  policy  his  present  actions,  such  as  the 
knighting  of  the  mayor  of  London.  In  connection  with 
his  present  assumption  of  the  title  of  Highness,  he  re- 
minded Cromwell  that  he  had  once  told  the  writer  that 
the  use  of  the  title  High  and  Mighty  States  by  the 
Dutch  was  a  provoking  of  the  Lord,  and  would  not  lead 
them  to  prosper.  However,  he  professed  certainty  that 
Cromwell  had  not  sought  his  present  high  position,  and 
declared  that  he  would  rather  serve  under  him  than 
under  any  other  man.  He  begged  that  Cromwell  would 
not  Hsten  to  accusations  against  Christians,  as  he  knew 
of  but  two  members  of  his  society  besides  himself  who 
had  expressed  scruples  on  the  grounds  he  mentioned, 
and  these  had  not  spoken  of  it  openly,  in  the  churches." 

"  "  When  you  spoke  tremblingly  as  Ephraira,  and  with  Moses  chose 
affliction  with  ye  people  of  God,  the  wisdom  you  sought  with  teares, 
amongst  his  simple  despised  ones,  directed  you  and  led  you  safely  when 
(I  bare  you  witnes)  you  were  farre  more  afraid  of  haveing  the  honour 
from  men  due  unto  his  name,  then  of  any  adversary:  and  endeavoured 
with  teares,  to  keep  men  from  thinkeing  of  you  above  wt  was  meet.  In 
wch  path  god  truly  honoured  you,  accordeing  to  his  promise.  .  .  .  Ah 
yor  posture  and  some  practices  Now  seeme  to  call  ye  prowd  happy  (as 
Mallacki  speakes)  that  of  Knighting  ye  Mayor  (on  that  day,  wherein  ye 
lord  was  soe  little  honoured  and  sanctifyed  before  all  ye  people)  speaks 
to  ye  world  yor  approbation  of  the  former  evil  Costome  of  conferring 
honour  upon  grounds  of  vanety.  Indeed  yor  title  of  Highnes  alsoe 
makes  some  few  soules  mourne  in  secret,  in  whose  hearts  yet  I  am  sure 
ther  is  noe  man  nor  thinge  in  this  world  higher  then  you  and  yor  welfare 
are.  In  scripture  it  seemes  to  be  ascribed  a  lone  to  god,  both  to  be 
dreaded,  and  rejoyced  in  by  Saincts  (Isay  13.  3,  Job.  31.  2). 

"  And  when  I  call  to  mynde  the  perswasion  yor  Lp.  had  (and  was 
pleased  to  express  to  mee)  that  ye  Dutch  provoked  ye  lord  by  assumminge 


142      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

That  they  had  discussed  their  scruples  extensively 
in  private  is  clear  from  the  great  similarity  in  tone 
between  this  letter  and  one  written  to  Cromwell  three 
days  later  by  Allen,  who  was  Vernon's  brother-in-law. 
He  denied  even  more  vigorously  than  Vernon  had  done 
that  there  was  any  general  dissatisfaction  among  the 
Baptists :  "  Wee  can  noe  sooner  Speak  (thoug  in  never 
so  peacable  and  Christian  a  way)  of  these  things  but 
we  are  in  England  Judged  Enemies  to  the  government, 
ready  to  rise,  nay,  up  in  Arms  against  it,  and  what  not. 
Oh  my  Lord,  have  you  knowne  us  soe  long  and  yet  sus- 
pect us  soe  soone ;  have  we  been  adictted  to  such  things 
as  these?  ...  If  God  bring  you  a  day  of  distresse 
when  f  reinds  may  best  be  knov^^ne,  you  will  finde  most 
of  those  that  have  been  tearmed  the  most  dissatisfied 
ones  here  stand  by  you  and  your  authority  .  .  .  and  in 
the  mean  time,  though  you  may  not  find  them  with  the 

the  Titles  of  High  and  Mighty  states,  and  should  not  prosper  in  ym,  I 
am  ye  more  affraid  of  yor  accepting  that  wch  seemes  more  independent: 
Some  other  cares  I  have  concerning  you  upon  my  soule,  as  touching  yor 
makeing  and  confirmeing  promisary  oathes,  (except  onely  that  engadge- 
ment  wch  to  most  Christians  was  least  scrupled)  and  thos  many  solemne 
engadgemts  and  declaracons  upon  serious  prayer  soe  soon  forgotten 
(wch  I  noe  further  imput  unto  yor  Lp.  then  to  beseech  you  may  be 
sencible  of  yra  before  the  lord)  for  they  deserve  our  hearty  sorrow,  but 
it  never  yet  hath  entered  into  my  heart  to  think  you  aspired  at,  or  wil- 
ingly  accepted  yor  present  power.  .  .  .  Nor  would  I  if  I  coulde  be  from 
under  yor  Governmt,  or  desire  a  chainge  of  it  for  any  man  or  men 
I  know,  or  ever  heard  of  now  alive  .  .  .  yet  I  beseech  yor  Lp.  to  put 
a  difference,  and  be  carefull  that  you  intrench  not  upon  ye  Gov- 
ernmt entrusted  onely  unto  Christ,  nor  easily  credit  accusations  agst 
Christians,  for  ye  accuser  is  busy  at  this  day  agst  yor  brethren.  I  know 
not  a  man  besides  my  self  and  two  more  in  all  our  socyety  in  this 
Gentry  that  have  exprest  a  scruple  concerning  yor  condition,  neither 
have  wee  either  to  any  dissatisfyed,  or  ever  in  the  churches.  ...  I  trust 
I  should  abhor  my  self  to  be  pryvy  to  an  expression  against  you,  unre- 
proved  by  mee.  .  .  ."  Vernon  to  Cromwell,  March  lo,  1653/4,  Add. 
MSS.,  4156,  fol.  47  ff. 

Lawrence,  being  in  Waterford,  had  probably  not  as  yet  communicated 
his  grievance. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  143 

multitude  shouting  you  up  in  your  titles  in  the  streets, 
yet  will  I  trust  be  found  Supplicating  at  the  throne  of 
grace  for  that  wisdom  for  you  from  above  which  is 
first  pure  and  then  peacible."  "  To  his  friends  Allen 
took  a  less  optimistic  tone.  He  considered  the  dis- 
sensions that  existed  among  Christians  sent  as  a  judg- 
ment from  God,  and  anticipated  "  but  little  rest  nor 
much  lasting  good  till  he  come  whose  right  it  is  to 
reigne,  ,  .  .  and  in  the  meane  time  it  will  concern  his 
poor  people  not  to  be  dreaming  of  reigning  like  kings 
hear  on  earth,  but  rather  to  prepare  for  that  wich  was 
their  masters  portion  ".  He  considered  the  dissatisfac- 
tion in  Ireland  not  as  bad  as  that  in  England,  "  and  if 
we  may  but  after  all  be  permitted  to  live  quietly  under 
our  rulers,  serving  God  according  to  our  light,  I  hope 
we  shall  owne  it  as  a  mercy  with  them  that  are  over  us  ; 
if  otherwise — which  God  forbid — we  shall  not,  I  trust, 
be  solicitous  as  to  ourselves  "."  He  professed  that  he 
loved  and  honored  Cromwell,  "  though  this  last  change 
with  his  atendencyes  hath  more  stumbled  me  than  ever 
any  did  ;  and  I  have  still  many  thoughts  of  heart  con- 
cerning it  "." 

Carteret  felt  that  the  outlook  was  gloomy,  and  seems 
to  have  had  doubts  as  to  whether  he  was  justified  in 
retaining  his  commission,  but  finally  decided,  probably 
upon  the  advice  of  Allen,  that  it  was  permissible  to  own 
the  government  and  continue  to  serve  it,  but  that  it 
was  best  to  have  as  little  as  possible  to  do  with  public 

"Allen  to  Cromwell,  March  13,  1653/4,  Harleian  MSS.,  4106,  fol. 
226  ff. 

"Allen  to  Theophilus  Hart,  April  5,  1654,  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  13, 
fol.  26;  Allen  to  Caithnes,  April  6,  Thurloe,  II,  215.  See  also  Allen  to 
Standish,  April  s>  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  13,  fol.  24. 

"Allen  to  Hugh  Courtney,  April  6,   1654,  Thurloe,  II,  214. 


144      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

affairs."  His  brother-in-law,  Lawrence,  felt  that  the 
greatest  fear  of  dissatisfaction  in  his  part  of  the  country 
was  lest  "  our  governors  should  be  led  to  doe  thinges, 
that  may  provoke  the  Lord,  and  cause  him  to  withdraw 
his  presence  from  them  ". "" 

Since  these  men  kept  their  opinions  from  spreading 
among  their  fellows,  less  dissatisfaction  came  to  be  ex- 
pressed, and  Patient's  congregations  were  observed  to 
be  smaller."^  Li  the  course  of  the  summer,  Allen  so  far 
revised  his  decision  to  remain  inactive  as  to  stand  for 
Parliament ;  but  in  Ireland  as  in  England  there  was  a 
wave  of  reaction  against  the  sectaries,  and  he  was  de- 
feated, along  with  other  Baptists.^  When  it  became 
evident  that  the  new  Parliament  was  not  inclined  to 
answer  the  expectations  of  the  saints,  there  were  ex- 
pressions of  discontent,  and  rumors  of  a  plot  arose, 
which  must  have  had  some  foundation,  but  which  were 
very  evidently  exaggerated.^'  Allen  was  among  those 
who  were  summoned  to  England  on  account  of  these 
rumors,  and  he  went  into  retirement  in  the  country 
there,  but  soon  got  himself  into  trouble  by  his  activities 
at  Baptist  meetings,  as  we  have  already  seen," 

The  great  popularity  of  Fleetwood  was  a  very  im- 
portant element  in  keeping  discontent  in  check.     His 

"  Carteret  to  William  Allen  the  merchant,  n.  d.,  Rawlinson  MSS., 
A  10,  fol.  25;  same  to  Standish,  April  10,  1654,  id.,  23,  fol,  105;  Allen  to 
Caithnes,  April  6,  Thurloe,  II,  215. 

^^  Lawrence  to  Staynes,  April  s,   1654,  ibid.,  213, 

^1  Jennings  to  Howard,  April  5,  1654,  ihid. 

^- Severall  Proceedings,  Aug.  31-Sept.  6,  Sept.  7-14;  Perfect  Diurnall, 
Sept.  4-1 1 ;  Egmont  MSS.,  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  Reports,  I,  553. 

^3  Fleetwood  to  Thurloe,  Sept.  6,  1654,  Thurloe,  II,  590;  Dobbins  to 
Percivale,  Sept.  19,  Egmont  MSS.,  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  Reports,  I,  559; 
Bordeaux  to  Brienne,  Sept.  21/Oct.  1,  Sept.  28/Oct.  8,  P.  R.  O.  Tran- 
scripts. 

"  See  above,  p.  78. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROrECTORATE  145 

reports  as  to  conditions  in  Ireland  were  uniformly- 
encouraging,  and  he  considered  with  satisfaction  his 
own  achievements  as  defender  of  the  government.  Yet 
his  preferment  of  a  party  whose  disaffection  might  at 
any  moment  lead  it  to  cast  off  the  bonds  laid  upon  it 
by  personal  loyalty  to  him  could  not  but  cause  grave 
concern  to  the  home  government.^"  More  important 
still  was  the  question  of  the  transplantation.  It  was 
felt  that  a  change  of  method  was  imperative  there,  and 
to  bring  it  about,  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  change  in 
the  administration.  Henry  Cromwell  had  been  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief  of  the  Irish  forces  in  place 
of  Ludlow  in  August,  1654,  and  a  member  of  the  Irish 
council  in  the  following  December,  but  he  was  not  sent 
to  Ireland  until  the  summer  of  1655.  In  the  preceding 
April  some  of  the  Irish  officers  began  to  urge  his  speedy 
coming  over,  and  Fleetwood's  letters  of  the  same  period 
expressed  willingness,  even  anxiety,  for  the  arrival  of 
his  brother-in-law,  although  they  betrayed  an  under- 
current of  dissatisfaction.^^  Cromwell  anxiously  as- 
sured him  that  there  was  no  intention  of  superseding 
him,  but  intimated  that  the  opportunity  was  a  favorable 
one  for  carrying  out  his  plan  of  visiting  England  with 
his  wife.  This  was  followed  up  in  July  by  a  positive 
command  to  come  to  England,  but  it  was  not  until  Sep- 
tember that  Fleetwood  finally  left  Ireland,  long  after 
it  had  become  a  matter  of  general  report  that  Henry 
was  to  take  his  place."" 

^^  Fleetwood  to  Thurloe,  July  27,  Sept.  22,  1654;  Feb.  2,  Mar.  6, 
1654/5;  June  18,  1655,  Thurloe,  II,  493,  620,  III,  136,  196,  558. 

'"'Ibid.,  and  same  to  same,  April  11,  1655,  ibid.,  363. 

"  For  a  discussion  of  Cromwell's  policy  in  this  matter,  see  Gardiner, 
op.  cit..  IV.  115  ff. 


146      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Henry  on  his  arrival  was  welcomed  with  joy  by  a 
large  element  of  the  population,  which  felt  very 
strongly  about  the  rule  of  the  "  godly  party  ".  They 
regarded  him  as  sent  by  a  special  providence  as  "  a 
healer  of  the  breaches  in  this  divided  nation  ".^  One 
of  the  Independent  ministers  who  came  over  with  him 
believed  "  that  my  lord  came  over  upon  the  wings  of 
faith  and  prayer,  to  put  honour  upon  the  publique 
worship  of  God,  and  life  into  his  people,  and  a  checke 
upon  some  irregular  spirits,  whome  I  rather  desire  to 
serve  in  love  and  pitty,  then  to  censure  ".'"  The  young 
commander  came  over  with  every  desire  to  conciliate, 
but  with  a  fixed  resolve  to  rule  and  not  be  ruled.  In 
September  he  wrote  home :  "  Thinges  heer  are  very 
quiett  and  peaceable.  ...  I  have  a  verry  fair  cor- 
respondency betwixt  my  selfe  and  olde  freinds.  They 
are  pritty  plyable.  Their  shall  be  noe  occation  of 
offence  offerred  one  my  parte ;  yet  I  must  doe  my 
duty."  ^  He  realized  that  his  youth  was  a  drawback, 
but  meant  to  discharge  his  trust  faithfully,  "  and  that 
without  giveing  any  just  occasion  of  offence  to  any  of 
the  people  of  God ;  which  I  may  say  through  his  grace 
[I]  have  endeavoured  to  avoide,  and  I  hope  it  is  uppon 
my  harte  soe  to  continue  ".^ 

But  there  was  much  in  his  bearing  which  did  cause 
offense.  He  attended  the  regular  services  at  the  cathe- 
dral, instead  of  the  Baptist  meeting  which  Fleetwood, 
though  not  himself  a  Baptist,  had  frequented,  and  the 
Independent  ministers  who  had  come  from  England 

*ST.  Taylor  to  H.  Cromwell,  Dec.  6,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  286. 
*' Harrison  to  Thurloe,  Aug.  15,  1655,  id.,  Ill,  715. 
»>  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Sept.  18,  1655,  id.,  IV,  40. 
81  Henry  Cromwell  to  the  Protector,  Oct,  9,  1655,  ibid.,  74. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  147 

with  him  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  Baptist  doctrine."* 
They  did,  indeed,  approach  some  of  the  Baptist  leaders 
to  see  if  they  could  not  be  persuaded  to  join  them  in 
worship,  but  gave  up  the  idea  on  hearing  the  conditions 
under  which  the  Baptists  thought  it  might  be  arranged. 
The  Baptists  stipulated  that  on  days  of  prayer  they 
should  be  allowed  to  speak  last,  that  they  might  correct 
anything  contrary  to  the  truth  which  might  be  said ; 
that  there  be  no  singing  of  psalms  ;  that  on  the  one  hand 
terms  of  reproach,  and  on  the  other,  "  magnifying 
titles  ",  should  not  be  indulged  in ;  finally,  "  That  we 
should  not  hinder  godly  men  from  places  of  authority 
and  power,  because  of  theire  judgements  "."'  In  this  last 
stipulation  lay  a  further  ''  root  of  bitterness  ".  It  had 
already  become  evident  that  the  day  was  over  when  the 
fact  that  an  officer  was  a  Baptist  meant  that  his  tenure 
of  his  commission  was  assured.^ 

An  agent  of  Baptist  dissatisfaction  was  Adjutant- 
general  Allen,  who,  freed  from  the  imprisonment  which 
had  followed  his  activities  in  Devonshire,  was  in  Lon- 
don. What  seemed  to  him  the  injustice  of  that  deten- 
tion had  increased  his  hostility  to  the  Protectorate,  and 
he  kept  his  friends  in  Ireland  informed  of  the  course  of 
events  in  a  spirit  which,  as  can  well  be  imagined,  did  not 
err  on  the  side  of  over-leniency  toward  the  Cromwellian 
regime.  Henry,  apprised  of  this,  suggested  that  he  be 
sent  into  the  country.  Thurloe  agreed  with  Henry  in 
his  estimate  of  Allen,  and  did  his  best  to  prevent  the 
success  of  the  applications  he  was  making  to  be  allowed 

^Newsletter,  Sept.   15,   1655,  Clarke  Palmers,  III,   52. 

»Dr.    Harrison    to    Thurloe,    Oct.    17,    1655,    Thurloe.    IV,    90. 

^  A  Royalist  writer  stated  that  Henry  "  follows  ye  father's  instructions 
punctually  in  Ireland,  discountenancing  that  party  and  cashiering  many 
of  ym  ".     Whitby  to  Nicholas,  Oct.  3/13,  1655,  Nicholas  Papers,  III,  79. 


148      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

to  return  to  Ireland.  Although  Allen  had  Fleetwood 
for  advocate,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  have  obtained 
the  permission  he  desired  had  it  not  been  that  his  wife, 
whom  he  had  left  in  Ireland,  fell  seriously  ill.  There- 
upon, on  giving  assurances  of  fidelity  and  affection,  he 
was  allowed  to  go  over."^  His  return,  which  occurred 
at  about  the  time  of  Ludlow's  arrest  for  slipping  away 
to  England  against  Cromwell's  orders,  was  the  signal 
for  a  new  outbreak  of  discontent.^  It  was  felt  by  the 
supporters  of  the  government  that  these  murmurings 
might  lead  to  serious  results,  unless  Cromwell  should 
give  "  a  fitt  countenance  and  authority  to  the  Lord 
Henry,  whereby  persons  and  places  may  be  secured,  as 
there  is  or  shall  be  occasion  "f^ 

In  pursuance  of  this  idea,  Henry's  supporters  in 
Dublin  drew  up  a  petition  in  the  name  of  the  mayor, 
aldermen,  and  others,  asking  that  in  case  Fleetwood 
was  not  speedily  to  return,  Henry  should  be  made  lord 
deputy.^  Such  a  slight  upon  their  beloved  Fleetwood 
at  once  aroused  the  Baptists  and  the  more  extreme 
among  their  Independent  brethren.  Cromwell  was 
scarcely  less  annoyed  than  they,  since,  foreseeing  the 
inevitable  dissatisfaction  of  that  element,  he  wished  it 

^  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Aug.  zg,  1655,  Thurloe,  III,  744; 
Thurloe  to  Henry,  Sept,  25,  Oct.  23,  id.,  IV,  55,  108;  Fleetwood  to 
Henry,  Oct.  3,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fol.  26. 

2" "  There  hath  beene  many  former  suspicions  of  discontents  among 
the  officers  heere,  especially  of  the  baptised  churches,  and  since  the  secur- 
ing of  the  lieutenant  generall  and  the  coming  of  the  adjutant  generall 
divers  unfit  speeches  and  practices  have  been  discovered.  .  .  .  The  lord 
deputy's  generall  sweetness  kept  bonds  upon  some,  who  have  since 
manifested  discontents."  Reynolds  to  Thurloe,  Nov.  14,  1655,  Thurloe, 
IV,  197.    Cf.  Thurloe  to  Henry,  Nov.  13,  ibid.,  191. 

^'' Ibid.,  and  Winckworth  to  Henry  Cror.nvell,  Oct.  17,  1655,  Lans- 
downe MSS.,   821,   fol.    52. 

^Newsletter,  Oct.  27,  1655,  Clarke  Papers,  III,  60;  Nieuport  to  the 
States  General,  Nov.  1/10,  id.,  IV,  260. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  149 

to  appear  that  the  return  of  Fleetwood  was  merely  a 
matter  of  time.  Moreover,  it  gave  color  to  the  accu- 
sation that  he  was  concentrating  power  in  the  hands  of 
his  immediate  family.  He  closely  questioned  Hierome 
Sankey,  who  was  in  touch  with  his  brethren  in  Ireland, 
and  who  informed  him  that,  so  far  as  he  knew,  Henry 
had  done  nothing  to  give  offense  to  the  Baptists ;  that 
on  the  contrary  he  had  had  letters  acknowledging 
Henry's  "  faire  and  frindly  cariage  to  them  "."'  Crom- 
well conveyed  to  Sankey  the  impression  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  laying  aside  Fleetwood,  and  both  Fleet- 
wood and  Sankey  intimated  to  Henry  that  he  would 
have  done  well  to  suppress  the  petition.""  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  Henry  knew  nothing  of  the  movement  for  the 
petition  until  it  had  been  sent;  and,  when  he  was  in- 
formed that  a  paper  of  similar  import  was  being  circu- 
lated among  the  officers,  he  promptly  took  steps  to 
suppress  it." 

The  situation  was  both  a  difficult  and  a  delicate  one 
for  the  young  commander-in-chief.  He  was  entirely 
out  of  sympathy  with  these  men  who  were  opposing 
him,  and  consequently  quite  unable  to  fathom  their 
motives.  He  was  convinced  that  even  when  they  were 
openly  expressing  approval  of  his  actions  they  were 

^Sankey  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Nov.  27,  1655,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821, 
fol.  40. 

*"  "  Though  you  did  not  at  all  countenance,  yett  if  there  had  been 
mad[e]  a  discountenance  of  the  Mayer  and  Aldermns  petition,  I  thinke 
it  would  have  done  well;  we  must  be  true  to  our  principalis,  wh.  is 
equally  to  countenance  and  en[c]orage  all  truly  godly.  And  indeed  I 
never  knew  that  the  Anab.  attempted  any  such  thing  or  any  thing  like 
it."  Sankey  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Dec.  4,  1655,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fol. 
52 ;  Fleetwood  to  same,  same  date,  ibid.,  48. 

*^  Ayscue  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Dec.  4,  ibid.,  fol.  46;  Hewson  to  Crom- 
well, Jan.  16,  1656/7,  Thurloe,  IV,  422;  same  to  same,  n.  d.,  Rawlinson 
MSS.,  A  5,  fol.  249  £f.;  Sankey  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Dec.  4,  1655,  Lans- 
downe MSS.,  821,  fol.  52. 


150      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

slandering  him  behind  his  back,  and  that  they  wrote 
calumniating  reports  of  him  to  England.  In  this,  if  we 
are  to  believe  Sankey  and  Fleetwood,  he  did  them 
an  injustice ;  moreover,  it  is  difficult  to  credit  men  of 
the  stamp  of  these  religiously-minded  soldiers  with 
double  dealing.  As  for  their  motives,  Henry  could  see 
in  them  nothing  more  than  an  unbridled  desire  to  rule.'^ 
In  this  opinion  he  was  confinned  by  the  members  of 
other  religious  bodies  in  the  community." 

It  would  of  course  be  absurd  to  represent  these  men 
as  uninfluenced  by  self-interest  or  as  watching  with 
equanimity  the  power  passing  from  them,  especially 
when  they  believed  that  it  was  passing  into  the  hands 
of  men  less  godly,  and  therefore  less  able  to  make  good 
use  of  it.  It  was  just  here  that  the  personal  motive 
became  inextricably  blended  with  the  religious,  and 
loyalty  to  Fleetwood  the  governor,  who  assured  them 
places  and  lands,  became  indistinguishable  from  loyalty 
to  Fleetwood  the  saint,  whose  rule  was  righteous,  no 
member  of  whose  household  discountenanced  the  godly, 
and  who  would  not  have  held  a  public  baptism,  with 
popish  ceremonial,  for  his  new-born  child."  There  was 
another  thing  to  be  said  for  the  attitude  of  such  men  as 
Hewson,  Vernon,  and  Allen.  Men  of  Cromwell's  gen- 
eration, his  old  comrades-at-arms,  they  did  not  find  it 
easy  to  have  a  stripling  set  over  them,  especially  when 

^  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Nov.  28,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  255;  Fleet- 
wood to  Henry,  Jan.  8,  Jan.  — ,  1655/6,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fols.  70, 
80. 

^  See  above,  pp.  138-139;  also  Thurloe,  IV,  270. 

"  On  December  7  Henry's  sister  Mary  wrote  him  that  she  had  heard 
that  "  won  is  with  you  .  .  .  ruls  much  in  your  family;  and  truly  it  is 
feared  she  is  a  descountenanser  of  the  godly  people  ".  Thurloe,  IV,  293. 
The  public  baptism  of  Henry's  child  evoked  much  criticism.  W.  Staines 
to  Henry  Cromwell,  May  29,   1656,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fol.   144. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  151 

that  stripling-  carried  it  with  a  high  hand,  and  appar- 
ently set  at  naught  all  that  they  most  prized. 

Something  of  this  feeling  showed  itself  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  Cromwell  by  Hewson,  his  son-in-law  Rich- 
ard Lawrence,  and  Henry  Prittie.  They  reminded  him 
of  their  services  under  him  in  Ireland,  of  how  fitly 
Ireton  succeeded  him  there,  and  how  Fleetwood  had 
then  taken  up  the  reins  of  government  to  the  content- 
ment of  all  the  godly.  They  referred  to  the  way  in 
which  Fleetwood  had  reconciled  some  of  those  who  had 
had  scruples  as  to  the  righteousness  of  the  Protectorate, 
and  declared  that,  having  heard  that  the  promoters  of 
the  petitions  which  Henry,  to  his  credit,  had  endeavored 
to  suppress,  still  intended  to  bring  their  cause  to  Crom- 
well's attention,  they  wished  to  enter  their  own  plea. 
They  requested  that  Fleetwood  be  continued  as  lord 
deputy,  and  sent  back  to  Ireland  as  speedily  as  possible  ; 
they  declared  that  in  the  meanwhile  they  would  be 
obedient  and  useful  to  Henry  "  in  the  station  he  now 
is  in  or  in  any  other  second  place  under  our  present 
precious  lord  deputy,  your  highness  shall  think  fit  to 
confer  upon  him  "." 

Cromwell  was  much  better  able  than  his  son  to  under- 
stand what  was  passing  in  the  minds  of  these  men.  Be- 
fore their  letter  reached  him  he  had  one  on  its  way  to 
Hewson.  It  was  couched  in  the  friendliest  terms, 
lamented  that  there  should  be  dissensions  in  Ireland, 
and  especially  that,  as  was  rumored  to  be  the  case,  any 
one  should  fear  persecution  either  from  him  or  from 
his  son.  He  asked  Hewson  to  write  to  him  frequently, 
and  suggested  that  he  endeavor  to  make  himself  serv- 
iceable to  Henry,  and  try  to  bring  about  union  among 

"Dec.  2,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  276. 


152      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

the  people  of  God.**  Hewson  in  replying  assured  him 
that  "  differances  heere  is  not  great,  at  least  very  little 
in  appearance.  .  .  .  That  jelousy  bee  of  persecution 
from  your  highnes  I  never  understood,  nor  feares  from 
my  Lord  Henry,  if  he  acted  his  owne  principle,  were 
not  prevailed  by  the  craft  of  others  that  might  darken 
his  Lo^^s  understanding.  As  for  the  Annabaptists, 
though  I  am  not  of  theire  judgment,  yet  I  must  doe 
them  the  right  to  informe  your  Highnes  that  (if  you 
have  true  hearted  friends  in  Ireland,  which  you  have 
many)  they  are  to  be  numb  red  in  that  rank  as  wel  as 
any.  I  doe  know  they  are  soe  f arr  from  f eareing  perse- 
cution from  your  Highnes  that  severall  of  them  hath 
spoke  it  in  my  heareing  that  they  owne  theire  freedome, 
theire  liberty,  yea  theire  safety  from  persecution  to  your 
Highnes.  .  .  .  and  if  ever  there  should  come  a  time  of 
triall  your  Highnes  would  find  them  thereon  for  the 
present  government  when  others  it  may  be  would  faint 
in  the  work  ".  He  had  already  felt  bound  to  "  deale 
faithfully"  with  Henry,  who  had  accepted  his  words 
well.  "  His  Lordship  is  young  and  to  be  pittied :  Arti- 
ficiall  compliances  and  flattering  insinuations  he  cannot 
be  freed  from :  Stability  and  Constancy  I  hope  wil  in- 
crease with  him  with  his  experiances :  the  good  Lord 
keepe  him  from  being  puffed  upp." "' 

This  letter,  together  with  Cromwell's,  was  made  pub- 
lic, and  freely  circulated  in  Ireland.  When  it  came  into 
Henry's  hands,  it  can  easily  be  imagined  how  he 
chafed  at  the  patronizing  references  to  himself.    Nor 

■**  Apparently  no  copy  of  this  letter  has  survived,  but  its  contents  can 
be  gathered  from  the  references  to  it  in  Hewson's  response,  which,  with 
a  letter  of  Henry's,  show  its  date  to  have  been  Dec.  4,  1655. 

"  Hewson  to  Cromwell,  n.  d.,  Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  5,  fol.  249  ff. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  153 

was  he  inclined  to  find  Hewson's  portrait  of  the  Bap- 
tists lifelike.  He  had  tried  to  be  moderate,  he  wrote 
bitterly  to  Thiirloe,  and  this  letter  was  his  reward. 
Indeed,  nothing-  better  was  to  be  expected  from  Hew- 
son,  who  consorted  only  with  ''  the  cheif  of  our  peevish 
freinds  heer,  viz,  Vernon,  Laurence,  Carteret,  etc.  .  .  . 
If  Coll.  Hewson  must  be  beleived  (with  his  three  ana- 
baptist sons)  I  must  be  made  a  liar,  if  not  worse  "." 
The  sober  and  godly  people  feared  the  Baptists,  and 
groaned  under  their  oppressions :  "  not  long-er  then  this 
eveninge,  at  the  funeral  sermon  of  adjutant  general 
Allen's  wife,  where  I  was  invited  and  expected  .  .  . 
preached  by  Mr.  Patience,  the  subject  of  his  discourse 
was  of  presumption,  and  pressing  the  necessity  and 
excellency  of  their  ordinance  of  rebaptization  ".  In 
spite  of  what  Hewson  asserted,  they  had  made  a  great 
clamor  of  persecution.*"  "  Can  his  highness  believe  ", 
he  wrote  a  week  later,  "  that  the  Anabaptists,  and  espe- 
cially those  heer,  to  be  his  best  and  most  faithfull 
freinds,  and  that  when  others  will  desert  him,  they  will 
stande  by  him,  as  coll.  Hewson  sayes?  .  .  .  But  lett 
the  sober  good  people  throughout  Ireland  be  asked  their 
knowledge,  they  will  be  able  to  tell  you  that  when  they 
appeared  for  the  owninge  of  his  highnes,  these  men  did 
openly  deny  him,  and  not  only  soe,  but  reproached  and 
reviled  those  that  did  owne  him,  and  I  am  confident 
have  marked  him  out  for  revenge,  if  ever  the  scale 
should  turne.  ...  It  is  good  to  use  tenderness  towarde 

^  Henry  is  using  Anabaptist  in  the  loose  sense.  Two  of  Hewson's 
sons-in-law,  Carteret  and  Lawrence,  were  Baptists,  but  the  third,  John 
Jones,  was  an  extreme  Independent.  For  his  attitude  to  the  Baptists 
see  his  Letters,  218.  He  belonged  to  the  faction  opposed  to  Henry,  the 
"  Anabaptist  "  faction. 

"Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Dec.   19,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  327. 


154      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

them.  I  have  done  it,  and  shall  still  doe  it,  but  shall 
withall  be  carefull  to  keep  them  from  power,  whoe,  if 
they  hade  it  in  their  power,  would  express  little  tender- 
ness to  those,  that  would  not  submitt  to  their  way."  He 
threw  light  on  what  Hewson  meant  in  hinting  of  some 
who  "  darken  his  lordship's  understanding ",  by  the 
statement :  "  when  I  have  come  home  at  9  a-clock  at 
night  from  the  councill,  I  have  sometimes  founde  the 
good  ministers  of  the  citty  here,  whoe  have  been  very 
wellcome  to  me,  and  for  which  they  are  pleased  to  say 
my  house  is  preist-ridden  ".^  This  was  the  circum- 
stance which  did  most  to  prevent  a  good  understanding 
between  Henry  and  the  Baptists :  the  Baptists  were 
annoyed  that  the  places  they  had  been  wont  to  occupy 
in  the  counsels  of  Fleetwood  were  now,  in  those 
of  his  successor,  filled  by  Presbyterians  and  moderate 
Independents ;  those  worthy  men  shaking  their  heads 
over  Baptist  intractability,  and  feeling  it  their  duty  to 
communicate  to  their  host  letters  containing  passages 
such  as  the  following : 

I  heare  of  some  strange  passages  of  your  Anabaptists  of 
Dublin  to  the  greife  and  offence  of  lord  Henry  Cromwell. 
.  .  .  Surely  the  pride  and  uncharitableness  of  that  people  shall 
ere  long  bring  them  low." 

There  is  a  certaine  generation  amongst  us  are  of  a  muddie 
and  disturbed  temper ;  and  if  they  cannot  get  into  government 
and  greatnesse,  as  the  Hebrews  did  into  Canaan  through 
Jordan,  they  will  (maugre  the  promise,  which  leads  against 
them)  attempt  it  by  the  way  of  Munster.  Captain  Vernon 
(the  church's  emissary)  has  ben  abroade :  whether  proselyteing 
those  of  his  religion  to  his  present  designes,  as  before  he  did 
their  judgments  to  his  religion,  I  knowe  not  certainely;  but 

'>"  Same  to  same,  Dec.  26,  1655,  ibid.,  348. 

51  E.  Wale  to  Dr.  Harrison,  Waterford,  14th  of  the  loth  month,  1655, 
Thurloe,  IV,  314. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  155 

confident  I  am,  that  somewhat  is  in  agitation  and  secretly 
mannaged,  which  spcakes  it  the  more  dangerous  and  to  be 
reguarded.  Clonmcll,  Waterford,  Kilkenny,  and  some  other 
places  he  has  very  busily  visited.  What  their  consultations 
have  ben  is  yet  darke :  however  it  concernes  you  to  have  a 
speciall  care  of  my  lord,  and  that  none  of  them  be  aloane  with 
him.  Remember  Leyden.  Though  the  same  principle  doe 
not  allwaies  produce  the  very  same  effect  in  circumstance, 
yet  give  it  time,  and  but  a  conniveing  encouragement,  and  in 
substance  it  will." 

The  hint  of  danger  to  his  own  person  is  not  likely  to 
have  been  taken  seriously  by  Henry,  but  his  exasper- 
ation was  pardonable  when  he  learned  that  Vernon  in 
one  of  his  sermons  had  said  that  it  was  a  judgment  for 
the  people  of  God  to  be  under  young  or  wicked  gover- 
nors, who  were  apt  to  be  lifted  up,  and  to  believe  lying 
reports  against  the  saints.  The  preacher  also  remarked 
that  Absalom  grasped  at  unlawful  power,  and  that  such 
men  might  pretend  to  be  for  the  saints,  but  that  it  was 
as  Pharaoh  was  for  Joseph,  and  Herod  for  John  the 
Baptist."*  Some  of  the  Baptists  expressed  displeasure 
at  Vernon's  tone,  but  Henry  considered  it  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  treatment  he  had  undergone,  although  the 
only  provocation  that  he  had  given  was  that  he  had 
"  not  bin  subject  to  their  will  to  doe  what  they  would 
have  imposed  uppon  me  and  others  ".^* 

The  personal  element  certainly  entered  into  the  oppo- 
sition to  which  Vernon  was  giving  voice.  Vernon  was 
suspected  to  be  in  some  degree  acting  as  the  mouth- 
piece of  his  brother-in-law  Allen,  who  was  at  the  time 
behaving  with  great  circumspection.  While  he  was 
never  able  to  see  in  the  Protectorate  anything  but  an 

^  Letter  of  H.  Warren,  Dec.  14,  1655,  ibid.,  315. 

°^  Information,  Dec.  19,  1655,  ibid.,  328. 

'*  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  2,  1655/6,  ibid.,  376. 


IS6      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

unrighteous  government,  the  fact  that  he  believed  him- 
self to  have  been  severely  treated  by  Cromwell  undoubt- 
edly heightened  his  opposition/^  There  is  no  evidence 
that  Vernon  had  any  personal  grievance  at  the  time, 
but  in  the  course  of  the  following  summer  he  was  com- 
plaining of  unfair  treatment  in  the  cutting-down  of  his 
pay/*  Hewson  was  piqued  at  the  failure  of  his  appli- 
cation that  new  commands  be  given  to  three  officers, 
Barrow,  Richards,  and  Leigh,  whose  regiments  had 
been  among  those  that  were  disbanded.  Of  these  men, 
Leigh  was  a  Baptist  who  had  expressed  approbation  of 
Henry,  and  Barrow  a  Baptist  who  had  been  opposed  to 
the  petition  in  behalf  of  Fleetwood  and  had  joined  with 
Hewson  in  bringing  it  to  Henry's  notice.  The  report 
that  they  were  present  at  the  framing  of  Hewson's  let- 
ter to  Cromwell  indicates  that  they  were  now  all  three 
among  the  malcontents." 

Chief  among  those  who  might  have  been  expected  to 
be  actuated  by  a  sense  of  personal  grievance  was 
Fleetwood,  but  the  difficulty  in  his  case  seems  to  have 
been  rather  an  excess  of  amiability,  and  a  too  great 
readiness  to  believe  every  one  in  the  right.  He  was  one 
of  those  people  who  through  their  very  goodness  and 
simplicity  are  the  despair  of  their  friends  and  the  joy  of 
those  who  are  wont  to  use  their  fellows  as  tools.  To 
his  way  of  thinking,  a  member  of  a  gathered  church 
could  do  no  wrong,  and  his  eyes  never  for  a  moment 
penetrated  beyond  the  surface  of  things.  Though  he 
ostentatiously  took  upon  himself  the  office  of  healer  of 

"  See  above,  pp.  78,  147. 

^^  Fleetwood  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Aug.  i,  1656,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821, 
fol.  216. 

"Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  26,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  349;  Taylor 
to  Harrison,  Dec.  17,  1655,  id.,  Ill,  29. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  IS7 

breaches,  his  quarters  at  Wallingford  House  were 
notoriously  the  resort  of  the  disaffected."*  He  was  of 
course  consulted  in  all  matters  relating  to  Ireland,  and 
the  tenor  of  his  advice  to  his  father-in-law  may  be 
judged  from  the  tone  of  his  letters  to  Henry,  to  whom 
he  maintained  that,  although  perhaps  "  some  good  men 
are  over-hastie  ",  Henry  was  unduly  prejudiced  against 
the  very  ones  who  were  "  earnest  with  the  Lord  ",  in  his 
behalf.  The  real  difficulty,  he  constantly  implied,  lay  in 
the  efforts  made  by  Henry's  supporters  to  cause  es- 
trangement between  Henry  and  himself.°° 

Cromwell,  however,  though  his  attitude  toward  the 
Baptists  was  far  more  sympathetic  than  Henry's,  did 
not  allow  his  views  to  be  influenced  by  those  of  Fleet- 
wood. To  some  extent  his  first  attempt  to  relieve  the 
strain  of  affairs  in  Ireland  defeated  its  own  end,  for 
the  publication  of  his  letter  to  Hewson,  with  the  latter's 
reply,  was  regarded  as  a  proof  that  he  was  siding  with 
Hewson  and  discountenancing  Henry's  policy."  How- 
ever, he  continued  the  correspondence,  laying  especial 
weight  upon  the  necessity  of  healing  the  breaches  be- 
tween the  different  sects.  Upon  this  task  Hewson 
expressed  himself  ready  and  anxious  to  embark.'^ 

Cromwell's  next  step  was  to  send  to  Ireland  a  mod- 
erate Baptist,  Thomas  Cooper,  who  was  strongly  at- 

'"'  Henry  sent  one  of  his  letters  to  Thurloe  in  care  of  the  Independent 
minister  Brewster,  who,  he  thought,  "  if  he  does  not  meet  with  ill  com- 
pany by  the  way  ",  will  give  a  fair  account  of  affairs,  though  he  is  con- 
sidered a  friend  of  the  Baptists,  "  having  been  courted  and  congratu- 
lated ".  But  he  begs  that  Cromwell  see  him  "  before  he  getts  to  Wal- 
lingford  House  ".     Thurloe,  IV,  327.     See  also  ibid.,  348,  373. 

5"  Fleetwood  to  Henry,  January,  1655/6,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fols. 
70,  74,  80. 

«»  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  26,  1655,  Thurloe,  IV,  348;  Dr. 
Harrison  to  same,  same  date,  ibid.,  349. 

«*  Hewson  to  Cromwell,  Jan.  16,  1655/6,  ibid.,  422. 


158      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

tached  to  him,  and  who  was  put  in  command  of  the 
forces  in  Ulster.  He  hoped  for  some  good  effects  also 
from  the  efforts  of  Col.  Sankey,  who  had  been  for  some 
time  absent  from  his  regiment,  and  who  returned  in 
company  with  Cooper.*^  Henry  was  not  unduly  enthu- 
siastic about  this  step,  especially  since  he  cherished 
some  doubts  relative  to  Sankey,  but  hoped  that  it  might 
do  some  good.  He  was  convinced  that,  as  Sankey  him- 
self put  it,  nothing  but  the  saddle  would  satisfy  some 
of  his  Baptist  brethren.  "  I  will  keep  them  from  that  ", 
Henry  declared,  "lest  they  should  make  me  their 
asse."  '^ 

Henry  had  to  be  dealt  with  carefully  in  these  days. 
Although  he  was  making  heroic  efforts  to  exhibit  mod- 
eration and  fairness,  he  was  thoroughly  exasperated, 
and  he  was  convinced  that  his  conduct  was  being  suc- 
cessfully misrepresented  in  England.  Cromwell  was 
not  likely  to  give  credence  to  reflections  upon  his  son. 
He  recognized  the  weak  points  of  both  parties  to  the 
quarrel,  and  give  him  tactful  counsel.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  have  a  report 
on  the  condition  of  affairs  from  Cooper,  whom  he  could 
depend  upon  to  be  just  and  impartial.** 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Cooper  and  Sankey,  Henry 
called  together  some  of  the  dissatisfied  officers  in  their 

<*  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Dec.  25,  1655,  ibid.,  343. 

^  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  2,  10,  1655/6,  ibid.,  376,  408. 

^ "  Take  heed  of  professing  religion  without  the  power:  that  will 
teach  you  to  love  all  who  are  after  the  similitude  of  Christ.  Take  care  of 
making  it  a  business  to  be  too  hard  for  the  men  who  contend  with  you. 
...  I  have  to  do  with  these  poor  men,  and  am  not  without  my  exercise. 
I  know  they  are  weak,  because  they  are  peremptory  to  judge  others.  I 
quarrel  not  with  them  but  in  their  seeking  to  supplant  others,  which  is 
done  by  some,  first  by  branding  them  with  antichristianism,  and  then 
taking  away  their  maintenance."  Oliver  to  Henry,  April  21,  1656, 
Letters,  II,  485. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  is§ 

presence.  He  told  them  "  that  they  might  all  of  them 
of  that  judg-cment  expect  equally  liberty  both  in  their 
spirituall  and  civill  concernments  with  any  others  ",  but 
that  he  would  not  approve  of  their  ruling-  him,  or  ruling 
with  him.  He  then  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  ex- 
press any  grievances  they  might  have  against  him, 
"either  as  a  publique  person  or  as  a  private  Christian  ". 
The  complaints  that  were  made  appeared  to  Cooper  to 
be  unimportant,  and  based  on  slight  grounds.  He 
thought  that  the  discussion  had  cleared  the  air,  and  that 
although  there  were  a  few  persons  "  soe  much  out  of 
order  in  their  owne  spirits,  that  noething  will  please  ", 
there  was  no  fear  of  a  spread  of  dissatisfaction  in  the 
army.°° 

The  good  results  of  the  presence  of  Cooper  and 
Sankey  appeared  in  a  letter  to  Cromwell,  written  soon 
after  this  interview,  and  signed  by  Henry's  supporters 
among  the  officers  as  well  as  by  Fleetwood's.  The  first 
half  of  the  letter  was  devoted  to  fervent  praises  of 
Fleetwood  as  a  "  ruler  sent  from  God  ",  whose  "  mouth 
hath  spoken  wisdome,  and  his  tongue  talked  of  judg- 
ment ".  The  latter  half  consisted  of  rejoicings  over  the 
sending  of  Henry,  and  the  whole  concluded  with  the 
request  that  "  they  both  be  by  you  set  here,  as  the  two 
pillars  att  the  temple,  the  one  to  establish,  the  other  to 
strengthen  ...  as  pledges  of  your  afifection,  and  whoe 
(we  trust)  will  be  polished  shafts  in  the  Lord's  quiver, 
to  strike  to  the  heart  wickedness  and  prophaneness  ". 
The  bearer  of  this  rhetorical  triumph  was  instructed  to 
inform  Cromwell,  when  he  made  the  very  natural  in- 
quiry what  it  was  the  writers  wanted,  that  the  idea  was 

"Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  lo,  i8,  1655/6,  Thurloe,  IV,  408, 
433;  Cooper  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  16,  ibid.,  422. 


i6o      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

that  Fleetwood  should  be  sent  back,  but  with  the  title 
of  lord  lieutenant,  while  Henry  should  in  his  absence 
have  the  title  and  powers  of  lord  deputy.*^ 

The  unanimity  shown  in  this  letter  was  considered  a 
good  omen,  and  indeed  so  it  proved.  A  calm  settled 
upon  the  spirits  of  those  who  had  been  so  troubled. 
Allen  and  Vernon  showed  some  annoyance  at  the  "  com- 
pliance "  of  Sankey,  but  appeared  little  in  public. 
Henry  had,  indeed,  some  trouble  with  the  Baptist  offi- 
cers Axtell  and  Eyres,  but  it  made  only  a  temporary 
ripple,  and  he  had  the  approval  of  the  home  govern- 
ment in  his  handling  of  them."  He  followed  his  father's 
advice  in  using  efforts  to  conciliate  the  Baptists  still 
hostile  to  the  government,  assiduously  circulating  the 
loyal  address  of  the  Welsh  Baptists  to  Cromwell.  He 
endeavored,  too,  to  secure  for  Ireland  the  ministry  of 
Spilsbury,  the  Baptist  minister  who  had  so  successfully 
interceded  with  his  brethren  the  previous  year.  That 
worthy  divine  had,  however,  just  accepted  a  call  from 
a  "  very  great  people  "  in  England,  and  was  not  obtain- 
able.** One  factor  in  the  continuation  of  peace  was  the 
♦withdrawal  of  some  of  the  principal  malcontents. 
Vernon  and  Carteret  crossed  to  England,  whence  the 
latter  was  sent  to  take  up  a  command  in  Jersey.  Hew- 
son  went  to  London  and  proceeded  to  make  trouble  for 
Henry   there,   by   disseminating  the   report  that  the 

^' The  officers  in  Ireland  to  Cromwell,  Jan.  i6,  1655/6,  ibid.,  421; 
Instructions,  ibid.  For  the  subsequent  history  of  the  letter  see  Thurloe 
to  Henry  Cromwell,  Feb.  5,  1655/6,  ibid.,  505;  Reynolds  to  same,  Jan. 
19,  Feb.  I,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fols.  26,  85. 

87  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Jan.  30,  1655/6,  Thurloe,  IV,  483; 
Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  April  28,  1656,  ibid.,  743;  Reynolds  to  same, 
Feb.  12,  19,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fols.  89,  93. 

•=8  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Feb.  19,  1655/6,  Thurloe,  IV,  545; 
Thomas  Goodwin  to  same,  April  6,  1656,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fol.  113. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  i6i 

Independents  as  well  as  the  Baptists  in  Ireland  were 
dissatisfied  with  him.""  This  report  the  Independents 
hastened  to  deny,  and  Henry's  friends  in  England  also 
labored  to  make  it  appear  "  that  other  Christians  be- 
sides Ana.  may  live  in  Ireland,  and  that  ministers  may 
be  encouraged,  and  that  others  may  have  countenance 
and  justice  "."  If  we  may  judge  from  their  letter  to 
some  Welsh  churches,  the  attitude  of  the  Dublin  Bap- 
tists at  this  time  was  one  of  patient  resignation,  while 
their  conviction  was  that  it  was  safest  to  be  prepared 
for  the  worst." 

Although  discontent  in  the  churches  was  in  abeyance, 
the  arrears  of  pay  and  other  grievances  caused  discon- 
tent among  the  soldiery,  and  on  that  account  strenuous 
efforts  were  made  throughout  the  summer  of  1656  to 
secure  a  settlement  of  the  government  upon  a  different 
basis.  Sir  John  Reynolds,  Henry's  brother-in-law,  and 
Dr.  Harrison  were  the  chief  movers  in  the  matter,  but 
they  found  many  obstacles  in  their  way.  Fleetwood's 
feelings  had  to  be  considered,  and  opposition  from 
various  members  of  the  Council  overcome.'"  Moreover, 
Cromwell,  while  he  desired  to  make  such  a  settlement 
as  should  "  either  prevent  and  make  peevish  people 

"^  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  May  20,  June  16,  1656,  Thurloe,  V, 
45,  122;  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  May  28,  ibid.,  65;  Reynolds  to 
Henry  Cromwell,  May  27,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fol.  142. 

'°  Same  to  same,  June  16,  1656,  ibid.,  fol.  162;  By  the  Church  of  God 
in  Dublin,  whereof  Doctor  Samuel  Winter  is  pastour,  June  3,  1656 
(Nickolls,  137).  The  Dublin  church  spoke  in  the  name  of  all  the  Irish 
Independents. 

'"■  "  Ye  are  now  in  prosperous  wis;  it  will  be  your  wisdom  to  prepare 
for  a  storm,  for,  brethren,  whenever  did  you  know  the  people  of  God 
long  without  persecution?  Yea,  and  that  from  the  powers  of  the 
world."     Dublin,  12th  4th  month,   1636,  Ivimey,  I,  253. 

'*  Dr.  Harrison's  letters  reporting  these  negotiations  are  in  vol.  821 
of  the  Lansdowne  MSS.  They  employ  a  somewhat  unusual  cipher,  not 
di.Ticult  except  in  the  case  of  names,  to  most  of  which  I  find  no  clue. 


i62      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

quiet,  or  at  least  hinder  their  disquieting'  and  hurting-  of 
others  ",  did  not  wish  to  do  anything  that  would  make 
the  disaffected  party  "  desperate  on  a  sodaine  ",  and 
therefore  desired  that  his  intentions  should  be  con- 
cealed for  a  time."  Reynolds  and  Harrison  were  de- 
tained in  England,  and  Anthony  Morgan  was  sent 
for  to  give  an  account  of  affairs.  Henry  considered 
these  acts  direct  slights,  and  began  to  say  that  it 
would  be  better  for  him  to  retire  from  Ireland,  since 
he  did  not  have  the  confidence  of  his  superiors.'* 
Thurloe  and  Fleetwood  did  their  best  to  pacify  him, 
the  latter  chiefly  by  protestations  of  unchangeable 
affection,  accompanied  by  rather  incoherent  recom- 
mendations of  his  Baptist  friends."  An  additional 
grievance  was  the  unexpected  appearance  of  Vernon 
in  Ireland,  although  it  finally  developed  that  he  had 
come  without  permission  from  Cromwell,  and  to  his 
annoyance.  His  arrival  was  the  signal  for  renewed 
activity  among  the  Baptist  malcontents,  whose  fre- 
quent meetings  began  to  cause  comment.  Vernon 
boasted  of  his  plain  dealing  with  Cromwell,  but  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  Henry  had  been  slandered  in 
England,  and  that  both  Hewson  and  Sankey  had 
behaved  most  unworthily.'' 

In  the  latter  part  of  August  came  the  report  of  an 
intended  invasion  by  the  Cavaliers,  and  the  young 
commander  had  to  give  all  his  attention  to  preparations 

''Dr.  Harrison  to  Henry  Cromwell,  June  lo,  17,  July  29,  1656,  Lans- 
downe  MSS.,  821,  fols.   155,  164,  214. 

■'i  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  July  2,  1656,  Thurloe,  V,  177;  cf. 
Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  June  24,  July   i,  ibid.,    150,    176. 

"  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  July  8,  15,  ibid.,  196,  213;  Fleetwood  to 
same,  Aug.    1,  8,    1656,   Lansdowne   MSS.,   821,   fol.   216;   823,   fol.   351. 

'8  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Aug.  6,  20,  1656;  Thurloe,  V,  278, 
327;  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Aug.  12,  ibid.,  304. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  163 

against  such  a  contingency.  While  travehng  about  the 
island  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  things  were  in  a 
good  and  peaceable  condition,  and  on  his  return  to 
Dublin  he  found  to  his  surprise  that  he  was  beginning 
to  be  courted  by  some  of  the  Baptists.  Patient  and 
others  came  to  see  him  and  expressed  satisfaction  with 
his  management  of  affairs.  He  was  at  a  loss  to  explain 
this  change  of  attitude,  but  it  was  probably  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  Baptist  Steele,  an  elderly  man  and  a 
staunch  supporter  of  the  Protectorate,  who  had  just 
arrived  in  Ireland  as  chancellor."  From  England,  too, 
came  Baptist  commendation.  Henry  Lawrence,  the 
president  of  the  Council,  wrote  to  assure  Henry  that  he 
was  convinced  of  his  advocacy  of  the  principle  of  tol- 
eration, and  gave  no  credit  to  rumors  of  persecution.'* 
This  was  gratifying,  coming  from  the  brother  of  one  of 
the  former  malcontents :  coming  from  the  president  of 
the  Council  it  was  perhaps  even  more  gratifying,  as 
presaging  support  of  Henry  in  the  settlement  of  Ire- 
land. 

In  October  Henry  had  a  valuable  champion  at  White- 
hall in  the  person  of  Vincent  Gookin,  the  opponent  of 
the  transplantation  policy.    Gookin  carried  over  an  ad- 

'^  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Sept.  29,  1656,  Thurloe,  I,  731.  Cf. 
id..  V,  453. 

'*  "  I  know  yr  Lordship  to  bee  to  much  a  person  of  honour  and  resolve 
and  reason  to  carry  it  hardely  to  different  judgements  that  are  of  peace- 
ible  and  quiet  Spiritts  as  to  civill  affayres,  besides  that  liberty  upon  the 
account  of  conscience  is  the  greate  product  of  this  warre,  and  is  cer- 
taynely  the  greate  designe  that  God  hath  on  foote  in  the  worlde  that  men 
may  have  liberty  to  searve  him  accordinge  to  theire  understandings,  wh. 
where  men  ar  not  in  utter  darknes  I  take  to  bee  the  onely  cement  of 
peace.  But  my  Lorde  I  need  not  say  much  of  this  subject  to  a  person 
of  yr  sense  and  education  and  experience,  and  yr  Lordshp  may  be  assured 
I  shall  have  no  ap[ti]tude  to  receave  reports  to  the  prejudice  of  one  I 
so  much  esteeme  and  love."  Henry  Lawrence  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Oct. 
9,  1656,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  821,  fol.  242. 


i64      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

dress  five  or  six  yards  long-  from  the  "  ancient  Protes- 
tant inhabitants  ",  and  elaborately  defended  Henry's 
administration,  asking,  to  Cromwell's  amusement, 
"  wheather  any  person  of  or  from  Ireland  did  ever  say 
any  thing  to  his  highness  to  your  prejudice  who  was 
not  either  accidentally  by  his  custome  to  rule  unlim- 
itedly  or  naturally  a  man  of  a  proud  and  Haughty 
Spirit  "."'  He  also  presented  a  long  memorial  which  he 
had  drawn  up  himself,  wherein  he  set  forth  the  condi- 
tion of  afifairs  in  Ireland.  To  his  mind,  nothing  lay  in 
the  way  of  a  glorious  settlement  "  but  what  lyes  in  the 
minds  of  a  few  busy  cholericke  people,  who  unjustly 
thinke  themselves  as  fit  to  build  and  setle,  as  they  were 
to  breake  and  pull  down:  and  in  this  erraticke  confi- 
dence doe  not  only  fill  many  places  of  publique  trust 
and  administration,  which  would  better  become  wiser 
and  more  sober  men,  but  doe  impetuously  baule  and 
clamour  against  the  preferment  of  all  such,  as  will  not 
be  as  mad  and  tumultuarie  as  they  ".  These  people  had 
been  encouraged  by  the  very  means  used  to  quiet  them, 
and  had  been  made  to  think  that  they  could  have  any 
one  whom  they  pleased  called  away  from  Henry's  side, 
and  detained  as  long  as  they  pleased,  and  to  believe  that 
the  fact  that  their  complaints  were  given  a  hearing 
indicated  disapproval  of  Henry's  policy.  This  had  so 
emboldened  them  that  they  had  put  almost  unbearable 
affronts  and  slights  upon  Henry  in  his  own  house  and 
before  his  own  servants.  These  people  were  few, 
though  they  made  a  great  noise,  and  opposed  to  them 
was  the  great  body  of  the  nation,  especially  the 
"  ancient  Protestant  inhabitants ",  who  cherished 
Henry  as  the  apple  of  their  eyes.*" 

"  Gookin  to  same,  Oct.  21,  1656,  ibid.,  246. 

8*  Gookin  to  Cromwell,  Nov.  22,  1656,  Thurloe,  V,  646  ff. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  165 

The  difficulties  referred  to  by  Gookin  came  to  a  head 
a  few  weeks  later,  when  Allen,  Vernon,  Barrow,  and 
Axtell  waited  upon  Henry  and  announced  that  they  had 
resolved  to  resign  their  commissions.  Henry  took 
twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  consider  what  was  his 
best  course,  and  finally  decided  to  accept  their  resig- 
nations. The  result  was  gratifying.  The  best  friends 
of  the  four  officers  expressed  disapproval  of  their 
course,  the  officers  themselves  did  not  appear  proud  of 
it,  and  some  of  the  leading  Baptists  took  occasion  to 
express  their  commendation  of  his  management,  and  of 
the  liberty  which  he  extended  to  all  churches.  He  con- 
cluded that  at  last  his  opponents  were  not  in  a  position 
to  do  any  considerable  harm." 

When  the  question  of  the  kingship  arose,  disaffection 
was  expected.  Henry  wrote  to  the  well-affected  of- 
ficers to  look  out  for  any  signs  of  disturbance,  and  to 
check  any  attempts  at  petitions.  Fearing  especially  the 
influence  of  Richard  Lawrence  and  John  Jones,  en- 
couraged by  Hewson,  who  had  returned  to  Ireland  on 
private  business,  he  made  such  changes  in  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  forces  at  Dublin  as  should  so  far  as  possible 
nullify  that  influence.  Allen  and  Vernon,  too,  were 
holding  meetings,  and  Axtell's  behavior  caused  him 
some  uneasiness.^ 

81  "  "pijg  Anabaptists  and  others,  whose  way  and  principles  were  incon- 
sistent with  settlement  and  our  interest,  do  find  themselves  disabled  from 
doing  much  harm.  My  inclination  now  is,  having  brought  them  to  good 
terms,  not  to  crush  them  quite,  lest  through  despair  they  attempt  things 
dangerous;  and  withal,  lest  others  take  occasion  to  become  insolent  and 
violent,  and  so  put  us  to  new  trouble.  Besides,  it  is  against  my  con- 
science to  bear  hard  upon  any,  merely  upon  the  account  of  a  different 
judgment,  or  to  do  anything,  that  might  make  them  think  so."  Henry 
Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Dec.  3,  17,  24,  ibid.,  670,  710,  729;  Thurloe  to 
Henry  Cromwell,  Dec.  16,  ibid.,  708. 

'^  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  March  4,  1656/7,  ibid.,  VI,  94;  same 
to  Cromwell,  .'\pril  22,  ibid.,  222. 


i66      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

His  suspicions  of  Hewson  and  Lawrence  were  only 
too  well  founded.  It  came  to  light  in  June  that  they 
had  been  promoting  a  letter  from  the  officers  to  Fleet- 
wood, rejoicing  in  Cromwell's  refusal  of  the  crown. 
They  had  secured  its  fifteen  signatures,  according  to 
Henry,  by  dubious  methods.  On  the  grounds  of  this 
action  he  forbade  Hewson  and  Lawrence  to  leave  for 
England,  and  in  spite  of  Thurloe's  attempt  to  make 
light  of  the  affair,  and  Fleetwood's  defence  of  Hewson, 
declared  publicly  against  the  project.  His  objections 
to  what  might  seem  a  harmless  expression  of  opinion 
were  based  upon  the  fact  that  indirect  methods  had 
been  used,  and  that  the  matter  did  not  come  up  imme- 
diately after  the  refusal  of  the  crown,  but  much  later, 
when  the  settlement  of  the  government  was  well  under 
way.^''  The  leading  Baptists  had  addressed  to  Crom- 
well a  letter  of  similar  import,  expressing  their  ap- 
proval of  his  resistance  of  temptations,  and  assuring 
him  that  "  whatsoever  report  you  have  heard  of  either 
the  Church  baptized  in  Dublin,  or  any  other  Church  in 
the  same  faith  in  Ireland,  it  is  farr  from  our  hearts 
to  disowne  the  Lord's  authority  in  your  Highness,  or 
his  worke  in  your  hand  ;  but  that  you  have  v»^ith  cordial! 
and  endeared  affections  been  in  our  hearts,  and  the 
waight  of  your  burden  and  worke  hath  (by  the  praiers 

*^  Henry  Cromwell  to  Oliver,  June  5,  1657,  Add.  MSS.,  4157,  fol.  182; 
Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  June  16,  Sept.  9,  Thurloe,  VI,  352,  505; 
Fleetwood  to  same,  June  17,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  822,  fol.  98.  Lawrence 
did  go  to  England  before  the  end  of  the  year.  Lawrence  to  same,  1657, 
id.,  823,  fol.  7.  That  this  was  not  the  only  project  appears  from  a 
rough  draft  of  a  soldiers'  address  expressing  satisfaction  with  the  way 
the  government  had  been  settled.  "  This  we  judged  our  more  especiall 
Duty  to  make  knowne  forasmuch  as  wee  have  beene  more  misrepre- 
sented for  disaffection  than  others,  and  forasmuch  as  that  Misapre- 
hension  hath  emboldened  many  in  their  contumacy  and  opposition 
against  your  Highness'  government."     Ibid.,  fol.  325. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  167 

and  teeres  (we  can  truly  say)  of  the  most  unsatisfied's 
brother  amongst  us)  been  borne  before  the  Lord  and 
the  throne  of  his  grace  "." 

For  some  reason,  perhaps  because  he  had  suffered 
much  at  Hewson's  hands,  the  latter's  project  of  a  letter 
which,  after  all,  expressed  the  same  sentiments  as  the 
address  just  quoted,  was  regarded  with  especial  bitter- 
ness by  Henry,  When,  three  months  later,  a  lieutenant- 
colonel  named  Bray  field  revived  the  affair,  intimating 
that  the  letter  had  pleased  Cromwell,  but  that  Henry 
was  trying,  Absalom-like,  to  steal  the  affections  of  his 
father's  people  away  from  him,  Henry  cashiered  him, 
and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Thurloe,  Broghill,  and 
Cromwell  himself  wrote,  desiring  that  Brayfield  be 
reinstated,  he  firmly  refused  to  rescind  his  action.*^ 

All  this  time  the  settlement  of  the  government  in  Ire- 
land was  being  put  oft"  from  week  to  week.  Henry 
offered  to  step  aside,  if  the  delay  was  due  to  opposition 
to  him,  and  when  Steele  informed  him  that  a  petition  in 
his  favor  had  been  despatched  secretly  by  his  friends, 
he  wrote  to  Thurloe  that  it  must  not  be  presented,  giv- 
ing reasons  which  do  credit  to  his  character  and  good 
sense/"  Finally,  in  spite  of  delays  and  obstructions, 
Thurloe  was  able  to  announce  to  Henry  in  November, 
1657,  that  he  had  been  appointed  lord  deputy.    From 

**  The  humble  address  of  divers  of  the  baptised  Christians  in  Dublin 
and  elsewhere  in  the  behalfe  of  themselves  and  their  brethren  in  Ire- 
land (Nickolls,  148). 

» Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Sept.  9,  1657,  Thurloe,  VI,  505; 
Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  ibid.,  552;  Cromwell  to  same,  Eng.  Hist. 
Rev.,  1901,  345  ff.;  Broghill  to  same,  Oct.  17,  Thurloe,  VI,  503.  In 
the  same  connection,  with  what  Fleetwood  called  Christianlike  behavior, 
he  refused  to  accept  the  resignation  of  Carteret.  Fleetwood  to  same, 
Sept.  IS,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  822,  fol.  182. 

*"  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  n.  d.,  Aug.  25,  Sept.  9,  1657,  Thurloe, 
VI,  446,  481,  505;  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Aug.  6,  ibid.,  455. 


i68      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

that  time  on  there  was  no  question  of  his  control  of  the 
situation.  In  February,  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
cashiering  the  five  Baptist  officers  in  England,  a  Bap- 
tist pastor  wrote  to  him,  disowning  any  part  in  the 
transactions  of  his  brethren  there,  and  he  felt  able  to 
report  to  the  home  government  "  that  those  people  are 
become  very  quiett,  and  I  countenance  them  accord- 
ingly, never  having  other  intention  then  to  bring  them 
uppon  a  levell  with  others  of  equall  desert 'T  One 
reason  of  the  change  of  attitude  was  very  probably  the 
withdrawal  of  Vernon,  who  had  removed  his  family  to 
England  the  preceding  summer.'^ 

The  temper  of  the  Baptist  officers  who  remained  in 
Ireland  was  shown  by  the  outcome  of  the  discussion  on 
the  army  address  in  March,  1658.  Though  the  Bap- 
tists were  in  the  majority,  and  one  of  them  gave  voice 
to  fears  of  a  settlement  which  might  permit  of  a  return 
to  kingship,  Sankey  and  Carteret  expressed  their  ap- 
proval of  kingship,  if  that  were  the  form  which  best 
agreed  with  the  constitution,  and  to  Henry's  surprise  an 
address  favorable  to  the  government  as  settled  by  the 
Humble  Petition  and  Advice  was  framed.  Not  more 
than  twelve  expressed  unwillingness  to  sign  it,  and 
these  based  their  objections  upon  different  grounds. 
The  chief  of  them,  a  Baptist,  Major  Lowe,  took  such 
an  attitude  that  his  friends  and  co-religionists  censured 
him  for  it,  and  as  he  was  also  guilty  of  neglect  of  his 
duties,  Henry  felt  justified  in  dismissing  him  from  his 
command.** 

^f  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  Feb.  24,   1657/8,  ibid.,  819. 

•*  Vernon  to  Henry  Cromwell,  June  22,  1657,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  822, 
fol.  107. 

*' Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  March  24,  April  14,  1658,  Thurloe, 
VII,  21,  71;  same  to  Broghill,  March  24,  ibid.,  22;  same  to  Cooper, 
May  19,  ibid.,  142. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  PROTECTORATE  169 

The  following  month  there  was  some  rumor  of  dis- 
content at  a  meeting  of  ministers  which  Henry  had 
summoned  to  discuss  the  question  of  tithes.  The  trou- 
ble was  among  the  Independents  as  well  as  the  Baptists, 
and  Henry  thought  the  root  of  the  difficulty  lay  in  the 
actions  of  no  less  a  personage  than  his  chancellor, 
Steele.""  Steele  had  unquestionably  been  serviceable 
in  soothing  the  minds  of  his  Baptist  brethren,  but  he 
had  failed  lamentably  in  tact  toward  Henry.  He  had 
come  over  to  Ireland  full  of  confidence  in  his  ability  as 
a  healer  of  breaches,  and  with  the  most  benevolent  in- 
tentions toward  the  son  of  his  old  friend  the  Protector. 
But  to  that  high-spirited  young  man  his  attitude 
seemed  that  of  "  tutor  or  guardian  to  a  minor ;  for  at 
his  first  coming  he  .  .  .  read  lectures  to  me  of  afifairs 
and  maxims  of  state,  taught  me  how  to  carry  myself  at 
the  councill,  gave  me  rules  how  things  should  be  man- 
aged at  the  board,  how  abroad ;  and  lest  I  should  forget 
my  lesson,  gave  me  three  or  four  sheets  in  writing,  of 
those  rules  he  thought  of  most  importance  ".  He  rep- 
resented Steele's  offers  of  assistance  as  coming  when 
the  Baptists  were  already  in  so  calm  a  state,  that  he 
had  declined  the  proffered  aid ;  whereupon  he  believed 
Steele  had  set  about  fomenting  discontent  among  the 
Independents,  in  order  to  build  up  a  party,  with  the 
expectation  of  later  allaying  the  disturbance  he  had  cre- 
ated and  thus  strengthening  his  influence.  The  mis- 
understanding between  the  two  culminated  in  Steele's 
decision  to  resign.  He  gave  as  his  chief  reason  the  desire 
to  "  take  better  care  for  his  soul's  concernment ",  but 
admitted  also  dissatisfaction  with  the  administration, 

••Same  to  Thurloe,  May  26,  June  9,  June  23,  July  7,  1658,  ibid.,  145, 
161,  198,  243;  Thurloe  to  Henry  Cromwell,  June  i,  ibid.,  153. 


170      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

as  well  as  embarrassment  because  in  his  official  position 
he  was  not  free  to  look  out  for  the  interests  of  the 
party  of  which  he  was  considered  the  head."  Doubt- 
less Henry  exaggerated  Steele's  misdeeds  and  under- 
estimated his  services.  Surely,  if  his  fatherly  lectures 
to  Henry  were  as  involved  and  obscure  as  his  letters,  we 
cannot  blame  Henry  for  his  impatience.  Yet  that 
Steele  was  sincere,  like  so  many  bores,  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt;  and  there  is  always  the  presumption 
that  he  carried  out  some  at  least  of  his  good  intentions, 
and  helped  allay,  and  not  create,  dissatisfaction. 

Steele  was  the  last  Baptist  with  whom  Henry  had  to 
struggle.  He  had  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  what  he 
had  accomplished  in  the  island  which  he  had  been  sent 
to  govern.  He  had  vindicated  his  father's  policy  of 
toleration  to  all  good  men,  a  thing  which  Oliver,  who 
had  a  more  complicated  situation  to  deal  with,  was 
unable  to  do,  and  he  had  made  out  of  an  army  rent  with 
faction  a  body  which  was  considered  the  most  valuable 
asset  of  the  Protectorate  in  the  days  of  his  brother's 
rule. 

"1  Henry  Cromwell  to  Thurloe,  June  23,  1658,  ibid.,  198;  Fleetwood  to 
Thurloe,  May  2,   1655,  id.,  Ill,  421.     Cf.  id.,  VII,  243,  269. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Overturning,  Overturning,  Overturning. 

The  accession  of  Richard  Cromwell  was  so  peaceful 
that  his  supporters  were  astonished.  But  the  peace  was 
not  destined  to  endure.  There  was  no  reason  why  the 
critics  of  Oliver's  government  should  be  reconciled  to 
that  of  Richard.  The  new  head  of  the  state  had  not, 
to  be  sure,  any  record  which  could  be  thought  to  justify 
the  accusation  of  apostasy.  On  the  other  hand,  no 
close  affiliation  with  matters  religious,  no  earlier  role  as 
the  instrument  of  God's  just  judgments,  recommended 
him  to  the  hearts  of  the  saints.  And  the  government 
was  still  government  by  a  single  person,  and  by  a  single 
person  of  so  much  less  ability  that  hopes  of  success  in 
an  attempt  to  alter  it  might  well  be  strong. 

A  Royalist  reported  that  some  six  hours  before 
Cromwell's  death  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  sent  out 
emissaries  to  all  parts  of  England  with  the  news  that  his 
condition  was  hopeless.  He  believed  that  they  had 
some  project  afoot,  and  that  they  had  chosen  Lambert 
as  their  commander-in-chief,  with  Harrison  second  in 
command."  In  London,  Feake  railed  against  the  gov- 
ernment from  the  pulpit,  and  "  Chillenden,  Spencer, 
and  other  Anabaptists  "  indulged  freely  in  criticism." 
Later  in  the  month  the  report  came  from  Exeter  that 

1  Barwick  to  Charles  II,  n.  d.,  Thurloe,  Vll,  415. 

-Newsletters,  Sept.  4,  6,  1658,  Clarke  Papers,  III,  162,  163;  Thurloe 
to  Henry  Cromwell,  Sept.  7,  Thurloe,  VII,  374;  Bordeaux  to  Mazarin, 
Sept.  30/Oct.  ID,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 

171 


172      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Carew,  Vernon,  and  Allen  were  planning  a  great  meet- 
ing of  their  party.' 

Had  these  men  still  held  their  commands  in  the  army, 
their  reported  activities  would  have  been  more  dis- 
quieting, and  the  hopes  they  raised  in  the  minds  of  the 
Royalists  would  have  been  more  sanguine.  For  it  was 
upon  the  attitude  of  the  army  that  the  fate  of  Richard's 
Protectorate  hung,  and  it  was  the  army's  discontent 
which  brought  about  his  downfall.  Exactly  how 
much  of  the  dissatisfaction  among  the  soldiers  was  due 
to  Fifth  Monarchy  and  Baptist  agitation  it  is  impos- 
sible to  estimate,  but  contemporary  opinion  laid  a  good 
deal  of  stress  upon  it,  and  gave  those  elements  consid- 
erable credit,  or  discredit,  for  the  events  which  brought 
about  the  change  of  government.  It  is  certainly  neces- 
sary to  recognize,  from  this  time  onward,  a  lowering  in 
the  plane  of  motives,  a  greater  emphasis  on  place  and 
power,  on  soldiers'  pay  and  soldiers'  privilege,  than  in 
the  days  of  Oliver.  Personal  ambition  on  the  part  of 
the  officers,  the  soldier's  jealousy  of  the  civilian :  these 
were  perhaps  the  most  potent  forces,  but  religious  con- 
siderations were  still  the  controlling  motives  of  many, 
and  for  those  whom  self-interest  directed  they  fur- 
nished frequently  a  convenient  cloak. 

It  was  discontent  with  the  succession  of  the  civilian 
Richard  to  his  father's  position  as  commander-in-chief, 
which  prompted  the  first  army  petition,  but  it  was  in  the 
form  of  prayer  meetings  that  the  gatherings  of  the 
inferior  officers  continued,  after  Richard  had  reproved 
them  for  their  action.     The  dissatisfaction  expressed 

sCoplestone  to  Thurloe,  Sept.  ii,  1658,  Thurloe,  VII,  385;  Intelli- 
gence, Sept.   18/28,  ibid.,  398. 


OVERTURNING  173 

in  these  meetings  took  the  form  of  references  to  the 
late  apostasy,  and  to  the  existing-  opportunity  of  return- 
ing to  the  good  old  cause.  At  Wallingford  House,  too, 
where  the  superior  officers  met  under  the  leadership  of 
Fleetwood  and  Desborough,  it  was  not  considerations 
of  the  unfitness  of  civilians  to  meddle  with  military 
aflfairs  which  went  upon  record,  but  resolutions  to 
"  looke  backe  to  what  they  had  sworne  and  prom- 
ised ".■* 

Henry  Cromwell  perceived  clearly  the  danger  in  tne 
unauthorized  meetings  of  officers,  and  likewise  looked 
with  suspicion  at  the  Savoy  conference,  just  opening. 
"  What  a  hurly-burly  is  there  made ",  he  wrote  to 
Fleetwood.  "  A  hundred  Independent  ministers  called 
together!  A  Council,  as  you  call  it,  of  200  or  300 
officers  of  a  judgment !  .  .  .  Will  not  the  loins  of  an 
imposing  Anabaptist  be  as  heavy  as  the  loins  of  an 
imposing  Prelate  or  Presbyter?  And  is  it  a  dangerous 
error  that  dominion  is  founded  on  grace  when  it  is  held 
by  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  a  sound  principle  when  it 
is  held  by  the  Fifth  Monarchy?  "' 

The  struggle  as  to  the  government  began  on  Febru- 
ary first,  when  Thurloe  brought  into  the  House  his  bill 
for  the  recognition  of  the  Protectorate.  It  was  while 
the  debates  upon  this  bill  were  going  on  that  an  incident 
occurred,  unimportant  in  itself,  but  significant,  since  it 
showed  the  position  of  the  parliamentary  majority,  and 
the  alignment  of  the  elements  opposed  to  Richard's 
government.  On  February  8  William  Kiffin,  and  other 
gentlemen  *'  of  good  affection  to  the  Commonwealth  ", 
men  with  "  honest,  old  faces  ",  were  observed  in  the 

*  Clarke  Papers,  III,  iv. 

»  Henry  Cromwell  to  Fleetwood,  Oct.  20,  1658,  Thurloe,  VII,  454. 


174      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

lobby  of  the  House  with  a  petition.  They  were  re- 
quested to  wait  until  the  debates  were  concluded.  A 
week  later,  when  the  Protectoral  party  had  carried  its 
bill,  and  Richard  had  been  duly  recognized  as  Pro- 
tector, and  as  general  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Common- 
wealth, the  petition  was  received.  It  was  presented  by 
Samuel  Moyer,  "  Commonwealths  men,  Levellers,  5th 
monarchs  attending  ".  The  petition  turned  out  to  be 
the  same  one  which  had  played  such  an  important  part 
in  the  last  days  of  the  preceding  Parliament,  and  was 
generally  regarded  as  an  application  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  republic.  Although  the  petitioners  were 
scornfully  referred  to  as  "  only  those  of  Prayse  God 
Barebones  gang  ",  the  presence  among  them  of  Kiffin, 
lately  the  staunch  supporter  of  Cromwell,  and  such 
respected  citizens  as  Moyer  and  Berners,  shows  that 
they  represented  an  element  of  standing  and  solidity  in 
the  community.  The  House  politely  assured  them  that 
some  of  the  grievances  enumerated  in  their  petition 
were  already  in  debate,  and  that  whatever  else  in  it 
was  suitable  for  consideration  by  the  House  should  se- 
cure attention  in  due  time.'  They  were  also  told  that 
the  House  expected  the  petitioners,  in  accordance  with 
the  expressions  in  their  petition,  to  acquiesce  in  its 
resolutions.  Despite  the  efforts  of  Hazelrigge,  Vane, 
Lambert,  and  others,  a  motion  to  thank  the  petitioners 
for  their  pains  was  lost  b}'-  one  hundred  votes,  and  they 
retired  "  not  a  little  troubled  ".^ 

*  Clarges  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Feb.  8,  15,  1658/9,  Thurloe,  VII,  609, 
617;  Barwick  to  Hyde,  Feb.  16,  ibid.,  615;  Commons  Journals,  VII,  Feb. 
9,  is;  Aungier  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Feb.  15,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  823,  fol. 
218;  Burton,  Diary,  III,  152,  288.  Clarges  said  that  there  were  40,000 
signatures! 

'  T.  Gorges  to  Dr.  Gorges,  Feb.  16,  1658/9,  Lansdowne  MSS.,  823,  fol. 
227;  Mabbott,  Intelligence,  Feb.  15,  ibid.,  fol.  222;  Annesley  to  Henry 
Cromwell,  Feb.  15,  ibid.,  fol.  213;  Burton,  Diary,  III,  288-296. 


OVERTURNING  175 

The  disappointment  felt  by  these  worthy  men  in  the 
attitude  of  ParHament  must  have  been  sensibly  in- 
creased as  the  weeks  went  on,  and  there  were  no  signs 
of  intention  to  follow  up  the  policy  foreshadowed  by 
Richard,  whose  "  Proclamation  in  behalf  of  Ministers 
of  tender  consciences  "  had  elicited  a  grateful  address 
from  a  number  of  Baptist  congregations,  which  re- 
garded it  as  a  sign  of  intention  to  follow  in  his  father's 
footsteps/  Those  who  favored  a  state  church  were  in 
a  decided  majority  in  the  House,  and  it  early  became 
evident  that  its  religious  policy  would  be  a  conservative 
one.  In  fact,  practically  the  only  side  of  its  activities 
which  were  of  a  kind  to  find  favor  with  the  sectaries 
was  its  release  on  the  grounds  of  illegal  imprisonment 
of  some  of  the  men  sent  into  confinement  by  Oliver. 

Among  these  were  Portman,  who  had  been  in  the 
Tower  since  the  discovery  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  plot 
of  1657,  and  Overton,  who  had  been  in  prison  since  the 
winter  of  1655- 1656.  When  the  latter  was  brought  up 
to  London  he  was  accorded  an  ovation  which  reminded 
one  observer  of  the  days  of  Prynne,  Bastwick,  and 
Burton.'  It  is  probable  that  the  effect  of  such  events 
was  greater  in  awakening  ideas  of  the  possibilities  of 
tyranny  in  one-man  government,  than  in  enhancing  with 

*  The  humble  and  hearty  address  of  sundry  Churches  of  persons  bap- 
tised into  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Mercurius  Politicus,  Feb.  10-17, 
1658/9. 

'Commons  Journals,  Feb.  3,  26,  March  16.  Newsletter,  March  12  [?], 
Clarke  Papers,  III,  184.  Concerning  Portman's  case  Gorges  wrote  to 
Henry  Cromwell:  "This  Imprisonment  is  voted  illegal  and  unjust,  thus 
your  Excelly  sees  that  the  Indulgence  of  your  Renowned  father  hath 
another  interpretation  uppon  it,  had  his  Highness  proceeded  with  that 
sort  of  men  as  he  did  with  another  Generacion  he  bad  better  secured 
the  nation  from  those  vipers  that  gnaw  his  blessed  memory  with  the 
most  poysoned  Teeth  of  design  and  mallice."  n.  d.,  Lansdowne  MSS., 
823,  fol.  235. 


176      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

the  sectaries  the  popularity  of  ParHament.  At  any 
rate,  a  tendency  already  noted  continued,  and  the  sec- 
taries, together  with  the  republicans  outvoted  in  the 
House,  began  to  pin  their  hopes  upon  the  army. 
Significant  of  this  was  a  circumstance  related  by 
Arthur  Annesley  to  Henry  Cromwell  at  this  juncture. 
It  was  that  "  Dr.  Owens  hath  gathered  a  church  in  the 
Independent  way,  and  the  lord  Fleetwood,  Lord  Des- 
borough.  Lord  Sidenham,  Berry,  Goffe,  and  divers 
other  were  admitted  members  since  my  last,  which  hath 
divers  constructions  put  upon  it,  and  is  not  that  I  can 
heare  very  well  liked  at  Wh.  H."  " 

Those  at  Whitehall  might  well  look  askance  at  the 
new  church.  From  that  time  forward  Dr.  John  Owen 
played  a  prominent  part  in  army  councils  and  deliber- 
ations. It  was  he  who  conducted  the  devotional  exer- 
cises at  the  great  meeting  of  officers  in  April,  which 
brought  about  the  breach  between  army  and  Parlia- 
ment. He  was  one  of  the  ministers  who  accompanied 
the  officers  when,  instead  of  dissolving  their  assembly 
at  Richard's  command,  they  adjourned  to  Wallingford 
House,  and  there  his  counsels  must  have  had  weight  in 
the  consultations." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  motives  which  ruled  the 
officers'  actions,  their  power  to  shape  events  depended 
upon  the  attitude  of  their  troops.  And  when  the  sol- 
diers of  the  regiments  in  town,  including  Richard's  own 

^^  March  15,  1658/9,  ibid.,  fol.  251.  That  Desborough  had  been  work- 
ing to  gain  the  support  of  the  sectaries  had  been  observed  as  early  as  the 
preceding  November.  Intercepted  letter,  Nov.  5,  1658,  Thurloe,  VII, 
496. 

^^  In  spite  of  Orme's  refusal  to  believe  that  Owen  had  any  part  in  these 
proceedings,  the  references  in  correspondence  and  newsletters  leave  no 
doubt  that  Dr.  Owen  of  Christ  Church  was  the  man  in  question.  See 
Orme,  Life  of  Owen,  and  Diet.  Nat.  Biog. 


OVERTURNING  177 

regiment,  obeyed  Fleetwood's  orders  to  meet  at  St, 
James's,  instead  of  the  Protector's  orders  to  rendezvous 
at  Whitehall,  they  were  undoubtedly  influenced  in 
their  action  by  the  belief  that  they  were  following  not 
merely  the  champion  of  army  independence  of  civilian 
control,  but  the  champion  of  religious  liberty  against 
a  regime  which  refused  to  recognize  it.  It  was  this 
action  of  the  soldiers  which  forced  Richard  to  put  him- 
self into  the  hands  of  the  army  and  dissolve  his  Parlia- 
ment, thus  virtually  bringing  his  Protectorate  to  an 
end.'' 

Whatever  their  influence  in  the  events  which  had  sub- 
stituted the  rule  of  a  group  of  officers  for  the  rule  of 
Protector  and  Parliament,  the  sectaries  felt  confident 
that  now  at  last  attention  would  be  paid  to  the  counsels 
of  the  saints,  and  they  lost  no  time  in  proffering  them." 
Four  days  after  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  an  aid 
to  the  deliberations  of  the  Council  of  Officers  was  ten- 
dered by  "  a  People  who  through  Grace  have  been 
hitherto  kept  from  the  Great  Apostacie  of  this  day  .  .  . 
a  willing  People,  and  their  number  not  a  few,  who  will 
stand  by  them  with  their  lives  and  Estates,  for  that 
Good  old  Cause  "  ;  the  good  old  cause  being  a  free  Par- 
liament, godly  magistrates,  liberty  of  conscience,  and 
abolition  of  tithes."  Feake  made  public  a  timely  ac- 
count of  the  rise  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party,  giving 

'=  Ludlow,  II,  63  fF.;  Clarke  Papers,  III,  189  ff.;  Cambridge  Modern 
History,  IV,  450  ff, 

'^  The  Baptists  were  represented  on  the  Council  of  officers  by  Cooper, 
Sankey,  Lilburne,  Packer,  and  Okey. 

"  A  true  Copie  of  a  Paper  delivered  to  Lt.  G.  Fleettvood  .  ,  .  the  26 
day  of  the  second  Moneth,  called  April.  i6y)  (Thomason).  The  authors 
consider  the  dissolution  of  the  late  Parliament  providential,  speak  ad- 
miringly of  the  Little  Parliament,  and  advise  the  array  to  regain  the 
point  reached  in  1650,  when  King  Jesus  was  owned. 

13 


178      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

his  interpretation  of  the  "  Best  Cause  under  Heaven  ", 
and  representing  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  as  a  peculiar 
people,  "  waiting  for  the  word  of  command  from  their 
Leader,  to  execute  the  vengeance  written  against 
Babylon,  for  being  drunk  with  the  bloud  of  the  Saints, 
and  with  the  bloud  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  "."  One 
set  of  petitioners  asked  for  the  re-assembling  of  the 
godly  party  in  the  Little  Parliament,  and  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  talk,  in  the  churches  and  at  the  prayer 
meetings  of  the  inferior  officers  at  St.  James's,  of  a 
Sanhedrim  of  seventy  godly  men."  However,  as  a 
perusal  of  the  pamphlets  of  the  day  makes  perfectly 
clear,  by  far  the  most  popular  embodiment  of  the  "  good 
old  cause  "  was  the  remnant  of  the  Long  Parliament 
which  Cromwell  had  dissolved  in  1653."  It  was  advice 
for  the  restoration  of  this  body  that  the  Council  of 
Officers,  not  at  all  inclined  to  any  further  experiments 
at  government  by  the  saints,  thought  worthy  of  accep- 
tation. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  Commonwealth 
party  favored  the  restoration  of  the  remnant  of  the 
Long  Parliament,  but  by  what  mental  processes  had 
that  body,  whose  expulsion  had  been  greeted  with 
rejoicing  in  1653,  become  the  darling  of  the  sectaries' 
hearts  in  1659?    Considerable  light  on  this  question  is 

^^  Beam  of  Light,  May  2,  1659  (Thomason). 

"^  Faith  full  Searching  Home  Word;  Thurloe,  VII,  666;  Clarke 
Papers,  III,  214;  IV,  21. 

"  To  his  excellencie  the  Lord  Charles  Fleetwood  .  .  .  from  several 
Thousand  of  faithful  Friends  to  the  Good  old  Cause,  April  26;  The 
Humble  Representation  of  divers  well-affected  Persons  of  the  City  of 
Westminster  .  .  .  ,  April  27;  Petition  of  the  well-affected  to  the  Good 
Old  Cause  about  Southwark,  April  30;  Twelve  Plain  Proposals,  April  28; 
Some  Reasons  Humbly  Proposed  .  .  .  ,  April  28;  A  Declaration  of  the 
Well-affected  to  the  Good  Old  Cause,  May  2;  Five  Proposals,  May  3. 
These  are  all  in  the  Thomason  collection. 


OVERTURNING  I79 

shed  by  a  pamphlet  published  by  William  Allen  just  at 
this  time.  In  it  he  gave  an  account  of  the  meeting-  of 
officers  at  Windsor  in  the  spring  of  1648,  when,  accord- 
ing to  Allen,  Cromwell  had  told  them  that  if  they 
wished  to  understand  why  they  were  not  prospering  in 
their  designs  they  must  consider  when  it  was  that,  as  an 
army,  they  had  departed  from  the  right  path,  and  must 
then  return  to  it.  They  had  decided  that  it  was  when 
they  had  begun  negotiations  with  the  king.  After  this 
decision,  and  the  giving  up  of  that  policy,  the  Lord  had 
blessed  them  in  all  things.  Allen  next  proceeded  to 
point  out  that  the  army  had  again  forsaken  the  right 
path,  and  had  become  a  hissing  and  a  byword,  but  that, 
if  it  would  turn  back  again,  it  would  again  be  blessed. 
It  must  go  back  to  the  time  when  the  Lord  had  pros- 
pered it,  and  listen  to  the  advice  of  those  who  had  never 
apostatized.'"  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  declar- 
ation by  which  the  officers  recalled  the  Long  Parliament 
remnant  followed  this  reasoning  with  some  exactitude. 
It  stated  that  the  existing  state  of  affairs  was  due  to 
backsliding  and  receding  from  righteous  paths  ;  that  all 
efforts  to  better  affairs  had  by  the  hand  of  God  been 
rendered  unavailing;  and  that  the  people  had  finally 
looked  back  and  perceived  that  the  Long  Parliament 
had  the  right  spirit,  and  had  been  blessed  in  its  work." 
Thus  the  change  of  government  took  place  under 
auspices  which  made  it  natural  that  the  sectaries  should 
be  considered  instrumental  in  the  work.  For  the  part 
taken  by  Baptists,  we  have  the  testimony  of  a  London 

'*  A  Faithful  Memorial  of  that  Remarkable  Meeting  of  Many  Officers 
of  the  Army  in  England,  at  Windsor  Castle,  in  the  Year  1648,  in  Somers, 
Tracts,  VTI. 

"  Declaration,  id.,  VI,  504. 


i8o      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Baptist  minister.  William  Allen,  the  General  Baptist, 
who  must  not  be  confused  with  the  author  of  the  Faith- 
ful Memorial,  writing  to  Richard  Baxter  about  some 
negotiations  for  accommodation  which  had  been  going 
on  between  Baptists  and  Presbyterians,  said :  "  As  for 
the  late  change,  I  beleeve  the  Annabaptists  have  been  so 
little  concerned  in  the  active  part  of  it,  as,  if  rightly 
understood,  will  amount  to  no  just  ground  of  scruple 
to  others  to  afford  them  in  general  their  comunion."  ''^ 
The  whole  letter  in  which  these  words  occur  is  occupied 
with  clearing  the  Baptists  of  charges  made  against 
them.  The  passage  therefore  is  a  proof  of  the  existence 
of  an  impression  that  the  Baptists  had  been  instru- 
mental in  the  change  of  government ;  and  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  written  makes  it  certain  that  no  more 
conservative  estimate  of  their  position  would  be  pos- 
sible. 

Whatever  their  active  part  in  establishing  the  new 
order,  Baptists  on  all  hands  manifested  approval.  The 
General  Baptists  of  sixteen  counties,  meeting  at  Ayles- 
bury, expressed  unqualified  approbation,  and  volun- 
teered a  suggestion  that  the  government,  when  finally 
settled,  take  the  form  of  a  commonwealth."^    A  group 

^  Allen  to  Baxter,  May  30,  1659,  Baxter  Correspondence,  IV,  187.  He 
continues,  "  Nor  doe  I  think  it  will  take  those  Anabap.  off  their  prosecu- 
tion of  christian  agreemt  among  differing  brethren,  whose  hearts  were 
inclined  to  it  before  ".  However,  Baxter's  statement  of  the  case  is  that, 
when  Independents  and  Baptists  had  come  to  terms  with  the  Presbyterians 
on  a  set  of  propositions,  "  the  turne  set  them  up,  and  they  were  too  high 
for  accommodation  ".     Baxter  to  W.  Mewe,  Aug.  6,  ibid.,  281. 

^  llie  humble  Petition  of  the  Baptised  Congregations  assembled  at 
Ailsbury  in  the  county  of  Bucks,  from  several  parts  of  the  Nation  on 
behalf  of  themselves  and  the  several  congregations  they  are  related  to  in 
Kent,  Siissex,  Surrey,  Hampshire,  Dorsetshire,  Somerset,  Berks,  Wilts, 
Bucks,  Hertford,  Bedford,  Nottingham,  Devon,  Lincolnshire,  and  Here- 
fordshire. Commons  Journals,  VII,  May  26,  1659;  Post,  May  24-31, 
1659. 


OVERTURNING  i8i 

of  Particular  Baptists  in  Kent  also  sent  congratulations, 
with  a  hint  concerning  the  abolition  of  tithes."  John 
Canne,  the  Fifth  Monarchy  Baptist,  had  in  print  three 
days  before  the  assembling  of  Parliament  A  Seasonable 
Word  to  the  Parliament  Men,  to  take  with  them  when 
they  go  into  the  House,  in  which  he  told  them  ex- 
plicitly :  "  It  is  desired  and  expected  by  the  Godly,  that 
you  will  be  mindful  of  the  great  reproach  which  hath 
layn  these  five  or  six  years  upon  the  Name  of  God,  and 
the  holy  profession  of  the  Gospel.  It  will  be  little  com- 
fort to  many  of  your  friends,  to  see  the  Civil  Rights 
and  Liberties  of  the  people  restored,  and  nothing  done 
to  the  vindication  of  God's  glory,  which  hath  suffered 
so  much  through  the  Late  Apostacie."  He  asserted  that 
it  was  more  important  to  give  Jesus  Christ  his  rights 
than  the  people  their  civil  rights ;  that  if  they  made  it 
their  work  to  prepare  the  way  for  him  he  would  protect 
them,  and  that  the  essential  principle  of  the  "  good  old 
cause  "  was  "  No  king  but  Jesus  ".  He  warned  them 
that  "  there  are  people  which  fear  God  more  than  men, 
and  will  not  be  partakers  of  other  mens  sins  ;  these  were 
they,  who  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  held  forth  a 
publike  Testimony  against  the  Apostacie,  and  kept  alive 
the  Good  Old  Cause ;  yea,  let  me  tell  you,  you  had  not 
sate  where  you  now  do,  if  the  Spirit  of  God  in  these 
men  had  not  shaken  the  very  foundation  of  the  last 
Government ".  Reminding  them  that  one  of  the  com- 
plaints against  them  before  had  been  that  they  pre- 
ferred unworthy  men  to  places  of  trust,  he  enjoined 

22  The  hearty  Congratulations  and  humble  Petition  of  thousands  of 
well-affected  Gentlemen,  Freeholders,  and  Inhabitants  of  the  County  of 
Kent,  and  City  of  Colchester  (Thomason).  Animadversion  .  .  .  with  a 
seasonable  Caution  against  the  Petition  of  the  Kentish  Anabaptists, 
June  20,  1659  (Thomason);  Commons  Journals,  VII,  June  4. 


i82      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

them  henceforth  to  prefer  only  worthy  ones,  hinting 
that  such  men  do  not  seek  places  but  wait  to  be  sought 
out/^ 

Two  days  later  Samuel  Moyer  appeared  in  the  House 
with  an  address  which  expressed  the  hope  that  the 
opportunity  of  pursuing  the  Lord's  work  would  not  be 
neglected,  and  that  the  government  might  be  so  settled 
"  that  it  may  not  be  too  long  trusted  in  any  Man's 
hands :  that  it  may  not  be  perpetuated  to  Men :  For 
we  have  found  it  by  woful  Experience,  that  the  best  of 
Men,  be  they  what  they  will,  if  they  have  Power  long 
in  their  Hands,  they  may  too  much  exalt  themselves  "." 

The  restored  Parliament,  in  these  early  days,  showed 
its  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  conciliating  the 
sectaries,  however  little  it  might  fancy  their  suggest- 
ions. This  time  Moyer  and  his  fellows  did  not  have 
to  go  away  without  any  thanks  for  their  pains.  The 
following  day  the  policy  of  employing  good  men  was 
inaugurated  by  the  appointment  of  Canne  as  official 
newswriter,  in  place  of  Marchamont  Needham.'°  The 
co-operation  of  the  saints  was  its  reward.  In  his  first 
issue  Canne  printed,  above  his  own  name  and  those  of 
two  other  Baptist  pastors,  Jessey  and  Edward  Har- 
rison, an  Invitation  to  the  Lord's  people,  throughout 
the  three  Nations,  to  provoke  them  to  a  Holy  Rejoycing 
in  the  Lord  and  exalting  his  Name,  for  his  late  Salva- 

-^  A  Seasonable  Word  to  the  Parliament-Men,  To  take  with  them  when 
they  go  into  the  House:  Wherein  is  showed,  The  first  part  of  their  pres- 
ent Work,  and  what  is  expected  from  them,  to  satisfie  their  true  and 
real  Friends.  Likewise  a  Watchword,  how  they  prefer  not  again  such 
Persons  to  Places  of  Trust  who  have  lately  Betrayed  the  Privilcdges  of 
Parliaments,  and  the  Just  Rights  of  the  People,  into  the  hand  of  a 
Single  Person,  May  20,  1650  (Thomason). 

^Commons  Journals,  VII,  May  12,  1659. 

'^Ibid.,  May  13. 


OVERTURNING  183 

Hon  begun,  and  the  good  hopes  given  of  Reviving  his 
ivork  again  in  the  midst  of  us.  The  recent  changes 
were  referred  to  as  the  work  of  an  overturning-  Provi- 
dence, which  had  subverted  the  throne  of  iniquity  and 
defeated  the  combinations  of  Achitophels,  thereby  en- 
couraging the  saints  to  hope  that  the  day  of  redemption 
was  drawing  nigh.  A  day  of  commemoration  was  sug- 
gested, and  Christians  advised  to  pray,  among  other 
things,  that  a  spirit  of  wisdom  and  judgment  be  granted 
to  those  that  were  to  rule/" 

At  first  it  must  have  seemed  to  the  sectaries  that  such 
a  spirit  had  been  granted.  On  May  10,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  consider  the  cases  of  those  who  had 
been  "  imprisoned  for  conscience  sake  ".""  On  June  14, 
a  petition  for  the  abolition  of  tithes  was  answered  by 
the  statement  that  Parliament  would  continue  the  sys- 
tem "  till  they  can  find  out  some  other  more  equal  and 
comfortable  Maintenance  for  the  Ministry  and  Satis- 
faction of  the  People :  Which  they  intend  with  all  con- 
venient speed  ".  But  once  more  the  question  of  tithes 
was  to  be  the  signal  for  the  parting  of  the  ways.  That 
same  day,  the  resolution  to  refer  the  matter  of  tithes 
to  a  grand  committee  resulted  in  a  tie,  and  was  carried 
only  by  a  vote  of  the  Speaker.^'  On  the  day  set  for  the 
discussion,  it  was  postponed  for  another  week.  The 
same  day  a  petition  from  Hull,   from  "  many,  who 

^  Publick  Intelligencer,  May  9-16,  1659;  Weekly  Intelligencer,  May 
10-17.  On  July  II  Canne  published,  regretfully,  his  decision  that  in  con- 
sideration of  "  the  people's  weakness  ",  he  will  not  as  yet  substitute  the 
terms  ist  day,  2d  day,  etc.,  for  the  nomenclature  in  use  "  till  the 
Scripture  Language  be  better  understood,  which  in  time  will  be  the 
most  usual  Language  in  the  world".  Publick  Intelligencer,  July  4-1 1, 
I6S9- 

="  Commons  Journals,  May  10. 

**  Ibid.,  June  14. 


i84      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

through  Grace,  have  been  kept  sensible  of,  and  mourned 
for  and  under  the  late  Apostacy  from  the  Good  old 
Cause  ",  was  read,  and  there  being  found  "  Things  in 
it  of  several  Natures  ",  there  was  a  division  on  the 
question  of  thanking  the  petitioners.  Colonel  Rich  and 
Sir  Henry  Vane  were  tellers  for  the  yeas,  and  the 
motion  was  carried  by  only  five  votes.  A  week  later, 
a  Quaker  petition  against  tithes  was  presented,  where- 
upon the  House  passed  a  resolution,  which  was  ordered 
printed  and  published  throughout  the  nation,  "  That 
this  Parliament  doth  declare.  That,  for  the  Encourage- 
ment of  a  Godly,  Preaching,  Learned  Ministry,  the  pay- 
ment of  Tythes  shall  continue  as  they  are  now,  unless 
this  Parliament  shall  find  out  some  other  more  equal 
and  comfortable  Maintenance  ".  The  word  unless  had 
been  substituted  for  the  word  until,  by  vote  of  the 
House,  without  a  division.^' 

This  was  a  significant  volte  face,  and  gave  every 
reason  for  the  growth  of  doubts  in  the  minds  of  the 
sectaries  as  to  the  fitness  of  a  body  become  so  con- 
servative on  such  a  fundamental  point,  to  settle  the 
form  of  government.  However,  there  was  an  impress- 
ion that  the  resolution  had  been  voted  unexpectedly, 
when  many  who  would  have  opposed  it  were  absent.'"  It 
was  always  possible,  moreover,  to  fall  back  upon  the 
hope  of  the  influence  which  could  be  exerted  by  the 
army,  and  there  was  a  daily  increasing  probability  that 
its  influence  would  be  exerted  in  the  right  direction.^ 

^  Ibid.,  June  21,  27. 

^'^  Faith  full  Searching  Home  Word,  1659   (Thomason). 

*^  Those  who  were  skeptical  as  to  both  Parliament  and  army  had  the 
opportunity  to  subscribe  to  a  scheme  evolved  by  the  ingenious  Dr.  Peter 
Chamberlen,  Doctor  of  Physic  and  incidentally  Baptist  and  Fifth  Mon- 
archy man.     He  proposed  to  set  up  Christ's  kingdom  through  the  instru- 


OVERTURNING  185 

For  the  amiy  was  assuming  a  character  increasingly 
sectarian.  With  Richard's  overthrow  had  come  the 
demand  that  the  places  left  vacant  by  the  weeding  out 
of  his  supporters  should  be  filled  by  men  who  had  suf- 
fered under  the  Protectorate.  Overton,  Rich,  Alured, 
and  others  had  made  haste  to  present  themselves  at 
iWallingford  House  and  profess  their  willingness  to 
serve  the  new  government,  if  only  as  private  soldiers. 
New  commissions  were  given  them,  and  in  the  reorgani- 
zation of  the  forces  during  the  following  summer  com- 
missions were  likewise  issued,  or  re-issued,  to  Okey, 
Packer,  Saunders,  Gladman,  Streater,  Richard  Law- 
rence, John  Mason,  Spencer,  Brayfield,  Axtell,  Allen, 
Vernon,  Lawson,  Cooper,  Barrow,  Wigan,  Goodgroom, 
and  Sankey — to  mention  only  those  whose  names  have 
appeared  elsewhere  in  these  pages.  In  the  reorganized 
militia,  too,  the  sectaries  enrolled  themselves  in  num- 
bers so  considerable  as  to  attract  attention.  Commis- 
sions in  the  London  militia  were  accepted  by  such  well- 
known  Baptists  as  William  Kiffin,  John  Fenton,  Jeremy 
Ives,  Edward  Leader,  George  Gospight,  and  John 
Canne.** 


mentality  of  a  parliament  elected  by  congregations,  and  announced  that 
he  had  £500,000  pledged  for  this  work.  The  Declaration  and  Proclama- 
tion of  the  Army  of  God,  June  9,  1659;  A  Scourge  for  a  Denn  of 
Thieves,  June  26,  both  in  Thomason. 

^- Scout,  May  20-27,  1659;  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dam.,  1658-1659,  375,  394; 
1659-1660,  12-13;  Commons  Journals,  June  8  ff.  "Of  late  they  receive  in 
all  the  sublimated  Saints  into  the  army,  which  Pride  and  some  others 
cashiered;  and  there  is  talk  of  an  underhand  list  of  7,000  men  upon  the 
fifth  monarchy  account.  It  is  so  reported  by  some  of  that  party; 
whether  in  reality  or  vaunt,  I  know  not.  If  the  former,  then  all  those 
persons  which  flock  so  fast  to  London,  under  pretence  of  petitioning 
against  tythes,  may  possibly  have  another  errand."  Barwick  to  Hyde, 
June  21,  Thurloe,  VII,  687.  See  also.  Intercepted  letter,  July  22,  ibid., 
704. 


i86      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

This  warlike  zeal  of  the  sectaries  in  joining  the 
militia  was  due  to  rumors  of  Royalist  activity,  and  the 
signs  of  Presbyterian  sympathy  with  that  party.  It 
naturally  caused  all  manner  of  reports  of  Anabaptist 
and  Fifth  Monarchy  plots.  Many  if  not  all  of  these 
were  set  on  foot  by  those  who  wished  to  utilize  popular 
prejudice  for  political  purposes.  One  evening  early 
in  June,  the  mayor  of  London  sent  to  Fleetwood,  "  to 
be  further  communicated  or  kept  in  silence  as  in  your 
good  wisedome  shall  seeme  meete  ",  a  broadside  brought 
to  him  by  some  terrified  citizens,  announcing  that  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  men  were  "  Arm'd,  Officer'd,  and 
every  way  in  a  Readiness,  upon  the  word  given  them, 
to  surprise  and  suppress  the  Army,  to  Fire  the  City,  and 
to  Massacre  all  considerable  People  of  all  sorts  .  .  . 
Beware,  Tuesday  next".  Vane,  it  was  stated,  was  at 
the  head  of  the  plot,  and  had  told  a  friend  that  the  army 
must  be  suppressed,  or  Parliament  could  not  sit  long; 
that  this  was  to  be  the  work  of  the  new  militia.*'  From 
Devonshire  came  a  story  of  a  whole  town  roused  from 
sleep  by  the  report  of  a  plot  of  Fifth  Monarchy  men, 
Baptists,  and  Quakers  to  cut  the  throats  of  all  the 
godly  in  the  nation."*  Canne  countered  this  with  the 
tale  of  a  plot  to  murder  all  the  Independents  and  Ana- 
baptists in  Gloucester.  It  may  have  been  the  publica- 
tion of  this  tale,  which  was  promptly  denied  by  the 

^  An  Alarum  to  the  City  and  Souldiery,  June  6,  1659  (Thomason); 
Ireton  to  Fleetwood,  June  6,   Tanner  MSS.,   51,   fol.   74. 

^*  Scout,  June  22-July  19,  1659.  It  was  perhaps  in  connection  with 
similar  rumors  that  Cornet  Day  was  accused  of  having  used  seditious 
words  during  a  service  attended  by  his  regiment  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
The  Council  of  State  examined  him,  but  set  him  at  liberty.  Commons 
Journals,  July  28;  Cat.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1659-1660,  47;  Particular  Advice, 
July  22-29. 


OVERTURNING  187 

mayor,  that  furnished  Parliament  an  excuse  for  remov- 
ing Canne  from  the  post  of  intelHgencer.'" 

The  Hsting-  of  the  sectaries  was  seen  to  have  been  of 
value  when  the  Royalist  plot  came  to  a  head  ;  and  when 
Lambert  had  marched  to  deal  with  the  only  serious 
outbreak,  that  of  Sir  George  Booth  in  Cheshire,  they 
were  very  active  in  filling  up  the  ranks  of  the  three 
volunteer  regiments  which  Parliament  put  under  the 
command  of  Vane,  Skippon,  and  White.'" 

When  the  danger  from  the  Royalists  was  over.  Par- 
liament could  turn  its  attention  to  the  consideration  of 
the  form  the  government  should  take.  To  the  flood  of 
pamphlets  which  supplied  it  with  advice  on  this  great 
subject  the  Fifth  Monarchy  party,  as  would  be  ex- 
pected, furnished  its  quota.  The  first  to  appear  pro- 
posed the  proclamation  of  Christ  as  head,  and  the 
erection  of  such  a  government  as  was  contemplated 
by  the  godly  party  in  the  Little  Parliament."  John 
Rogers  came  forward  in  a  guise  unwontedly  moderate, 
deploring  the  extreme  to  which  Feake  and  other  rigid 
Fifth  Monarchists  went,  in  not  recognizing  the  right 
of  the  people  to  choose  their  representatives.  He  dis- 
tinguished between  the  two  sorts  of  Fifth  Monarchy 
men,   and   asserted   that  the   rational   ones  desired   a 

^  Mercurius  Politicus,  Aug.  4-1 1;  Commons  Journals,  Aug.  13;  Publick 
Intelligencer,  Aug.  22.  Sometime  between  August  13  and  November  8, 
Canne  became  one  of  the  editors  of  the  two  papers,  Occurrences  from 
Forraign  Parts,  and  Particular  Advice  from  the  Office  of  Intelligence. 
See  Occurrences,  Nov.  8-15,  1659,  for  Canne's  announcement. 

^  Scout,  Aug.  5-12,  1659;  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dam.,  1659-1660,  94,  156;  Bor- 
deaux to  Mazarin,  Aug.  11/21,  15/25,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts;  Phillips, 
Continuation  of  Baker's  Chronicle,  424.  John  Wigan,  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy Baptist,  thought  he  observed  a  tendency  to  discriminate  against 
Fifth  Monarchy  men.     Letter,  July  27,  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1659-1660,  46. 

"  The  Fifth  Monarchy,  or  Kingdom  of  Christ,  in  opposition  to  the 
Beast's,  Asserted,  Aug.  23,  1659  (Thomason). 


i88      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Christian  commonwealth,  Avith  Christ  at  its  head,  where 
the  rule  of  saints  as  saints  did  not  exclude  the  rule  of 
men  as  men.  "  Nor  are  we  of  opinion  that  this  govern- 
ment under  the  seventh  Trumpet  "*  is  initiated  or  ma- 
triculated by  the  personal  appearance  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
but  all  we  hold  is,  that  the  most  holy,  able,  wise,  pious, 
and  (every  way)  qualified  persons,  men  fearing-  God, 
hating  covetousness,  of  the  highest  capacity,  reason  and 
latitude  to  all  .  .  .  and  of  the  liveliest  courage  for  the 
Cause  and  Interest  of  our  dearest  Jesus  and  of  the 
whole  Body,  be  set  up  over  us.  Not  that  they  should 
be  all  such,  or  none  but  such  (for  that  we  cannot  ex- 
pect) but  to  do  our  best  to  find  some  such."  "" 

Unquestionably  Rogers  had  in  his  eye  at  least  one 
such  man,  who  was  already  doing  his  best  to  secure  a 
righteous  settlement.  Since  Sir  Henry  Vane  had  been 
his  fellow-prisoner  in  Carisbrooke  Castle,  Rogers  had 
gfiven  him  his  enthusiastic  support.*"  Their  friendship 
may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  persistent  con- 
nection of  Vane's  name  with  most  of  the  rumors 
of  Fifth  Monarchy  agitation  during  this  period.  Ap- 
parently Vane  had  been  able  to  moderate  some  of 
Rogers's  views,  while  his  mystic  idealism  brought  him 
into  sympathy  with  some  of  the  notions  of  Rogers  con- 
cerning the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Passages  in  Vane's 
writings  show  his  firm  belief  in  a  visible  kingdom  of 
Christ  on  earth,  and  his  conviction  that  the  setting  up  of 

•''*  Revelation,  xi,  15,  16. 

^^  A  Christian  C  oncer  citation  ivith  Mr.  Prin,  Mr.  Better,  Mr.  Har- 
rington, For  the  True  Cause  of  tlie  Commonwealth,  Sept.  20,  1659 
(Thomason). 

*"  Since  his  experiences  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Rogers  had  undergone 
imprisonment  in  the  Tower  from  Feb.  3  to  April  16,  1658.  The  restored 
Long  Parliament  had  given  him  the  chaplaincy  of  Fairfax's  regiment, 
which  he  held  at  the  time  of  Booth's  rising. 


OVERTURNING  189 

that  kingdom  would  be  the  best  solution  of  England's 
difficulties/'  The  practical  side  of  his  nature,  how- 
ever, prevented  his  allowing  any  plans  for  establishing 
such  a  kingdom  from  interefering  with  practical  poli- 
tics as  he  conceived  them.  What  he  was  working  for 
was  a  truly  republican  form  of  government,  and  for 
furthering  his  ends  he  was  astute  enough  to  encourage 
the  allegiance  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  as  well  as  of 
other  extreme  sectaries,  with  many  of  whose  views  he 
sympathized.  Frequently  they  gave  him  their  support 
for  quite  different  motives,  as  was  the  case  when  they 
backed  up  his  opposition  to  the  proposed  engagement 
against  a  single  person:  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  be- 
cause they  believed  it  would  engage  them  against 
Christ's  kingship ;  some,  at  least,  of  the  Baptists  because 
of  scruples  against  all  oaths.'' 

Vane's  name  was  mentioned,  though  apparently  with- 
out reason,  in  connection  with  a  Fifth  Monarchy  peti- 
tion presented  to  Parliament  September  17,  and  later 
published  in  the  form  of  a  broadside.  It  declared 
strongly  against  government  by  a  single  person,  and 
expressed  the  belief  that  the  recent  troubles  marked 
the  preparation  for  the  rule  of  Christ.  The  petitioners 
asked  that  Parliament  employ  none  who  had  been  hon- 
ored by  the  Protector,  and  that  tithes  be  abolished  and 
liberty  of  conscience  allowed."     With  a  policy  that 

"  The  Retired  Man's  Meditations;  citations  in  Hosmer's  Life  of  Vane. 

'"  Rogers,  Fifth  Monarchy  Man,  310;  Ormond,  Advices,  Sept.  12,  1659, 
Carte  MSS.,  213,  fol.  301;  Bordeaux  to  Mazarin,  Sept.  19/29,  P.  R.  O. 
Transcripts;  same  to  same,  n.  d.,  ibid.,  fol.  67  b.  After  the  Restoration, 
Henry  Denne  and  Jeremiah  Ives  took  part  in  the  discussions  on  the  law- 
fulness of  oath-taking  by  Christians.  See  Catalogue  of  Thomason 
Tracts. 

*^  An  Essay  toward  Settlement  upon  a  sure  foundation,  Sept.  19, 
1659  (Thomason). 


190      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

savored,  as  a  critic  suggested,  rather  "  of  the  Serpentine 
subtilty  and  guile  then  of  the  simplicity  and  innocency 
of  the  Dove  ",  the  petitioners  put  at  the  head  of  the  Hst 
of  signatories  the  name  of  John  Owen  ;  it  was  not,  how- 
ever, Dr.  John  Owen,  the  well-known  Independent,  but 
an  obscure  individual  of  the  same  name.'"  The  other 
names  were,  with  a  few  exceptions,  those  of  well-known 
Fifth  Monarchy  men.  Baptists,  and  Levellers. 

It  was  not  alone  the  sectaries  who'  plied  Parliament 
with  suggestions.  Besides  the  schemes  of  Milton, 
Prynne,  Baxter,  and  other  amateur  constitution-makers 
of  various  persuasions,  there  were  the  productions  of 
Harrington  and  his  Rota,  and,  more  formidable  because 
of  the  power  behind  them,  there  were  the  various  army 
schemes.**  The  unwillingness  of  Parliament  to  proceed 
with  the  settlement,  in  accordance  with  any  of  these 
ideas,  or  even  along  lines  of  its  own,  caused  general 
dissatisfaction,  but  again  it  was  army  discontent  which 
overthrew  the  government."  The  series  of  events 
which  began  with  the  Derbyshire  petition  and  ended 
with  the  blockading  of  the  Parliament  House  by  Lam- 
bert, and  the  establishment  of  a  committee  of  safety, 
was  the  work  of  the  army  faction  alone.  The  men  who 
had  brought  back  the  Rump,  as  it  began  to  be  derisively 
called,  had  driven  it  out  again,  and  the  destiny  of  the 
nation  was  again  in  the  hands  of  its  soldiery. 

**  Johnson,  Examination  of  the  Essay,  1659  (Bodleian).  The  names 
signed  were  as  follows:  John  Owen,  Henry  Jessey,  Vavasor  Powell, 
John  Vernon,  Hugh  Courtney,  William  Allen,  Philip  Pyncheon,  John 
Portman,  Clement  Ireton,  Robert  Rumsey,  P.  Goodicke,  R.  Price,  James 
Hitt,  John  Wigan,  H.  Danvers,  Richard  Goodgroom,  Henry  Parsons, 
Robert  Overton,  Richard   Saltonstall,  Wentworth  Day. 

*''  See  Masson,  Milton,  V,  480  ff.,  605  ff. 

*°  A  sop  was  thrown  to  the  sectaries  on  October  8  by  the  appointment  of 
Praise-God  Barbone  to  be  comptroller  for  sequestrations.  Commons 
Journals,  VII,  794. 


OVERTURNING  igi 

How  far  was  the  change  due  to,  or  favored  by,  the 
sectaries?  Men  spoke  of  the  officers  who  had  done  the 
work  as  "  anabaptists  and  millenaries,  or  saints  ",  and 
represented  Lambert  as  supported  by  Vane  and  the 
"  desperate  sectaries  "."  The  sectaries,  however,  were 
not  at  one  in  the  matter.  Those  who  held  republican 
or  Levelling  views  were  true  to  the  principles  of  parlia- 
mentary government,  and  refused  to  support  their 
comrades  against  the  Rump.  Overton  would  not  coun- 
tenance the  officers'  petition,  and  Okey,  Alured,  Saun- 
ders, and  Streater  were  among  the  officers  who  ad- 
dressed to  Fleetwood  a  letter  of  remonstrance,  begging 
him  as  a  professor  of  religion  to  restore  the  Long  Par- 
liament.** Praise-God  Barbone,  too,  headed  a  faction 
in  the  City  which  never  wavered  in  its  support  of  Par- 
liament.'"* 

On  the  other  hand,  the  revolution  had  been  carried 
through  under  the  authority,  nominally  at  least,  of 
Fleetwood,  though  he  was  probably  then,  as  always, 
merely  the  tool  of  abler  men.  On  the  new  committee  of 
safety,  which  declared  for  the  abolition  of  tithes  and 
asked  for  the  prayers  of  the  godly,  the  leading  spirit 
was  Vane.  These  two  men  of  approved  godliness  must 
have  kept  a  respectable  following  of  sectaries,  while  the 
confidence  of  moderate  Baptists  was  unquestionably 
given  to  three  Baptist  members  of  the  committee,  Henry 

*' Mordaunt  to  Charles  II,  Oct.  ii,  Carte  Papers,  II,  223  ff.;  Bordeaux 
to  Mazarin,  Oct.  20/30,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 

^^  Thurloe,  VII,  771  ff. 

■"•  See  below,  p.  196.  Kiffin,  however,  with  Packer  and  Spencer, 
believed  Parliament  was  for  Sir  George  Booth's  party,  and  against  lib- 
erty of  conscience.  E.  D.,  A  True  relation  of  the  Case  Between  the 
ever  Honourable  Parliament  and  the  Officers  of  the  Army,  Oct.  16,  and 
The  Declaration  of  the  Officers  .  .  .  Examined  and  Condemned,  Nov.  25 
(Thomason). 


192      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Lawrence,  Robert  Bennet,  and  William  Steele.""  We 
should  expect  to  find  the  sectaries  in  the  army  support- 
ing the  military  revolution,  in  general,  and  an  indica- 
tion that  this  was  the  case  is  supplied  by  incidents  in 
connection  with  Monck's  position.  It  had  been  Monck's 
assurance  that  he  would  support  Parliament  which 
emboldened  that  body  to  take  a  firm  stand  with  the 
officers,  and  to  cashier  Lambert  and  the  other  eight 
officers,  thus  bringing  about  Lambert's  coup  d'etat 
and  its  own  downfall.  When,  after  hearing  of  these 
events,  Monck  reiterated  his  decision  to  stand  by 
Parliament,  the  men  whom  he  put  into  prison  for 
murmuring  at  his  announcement  were  spoken  of  as 
"  most  of  the  Anabaptist  officers  ".  It  was  a  well- 
known  Baptist,  Richard  Deane,  sent  by  Fleetwood  with 
letters  to  Monck,  whom  the  latter  sent  back  to  England 
on  suspicion  of  having  carried  on  intrigues  among  his 
soldiers;  and  the  twenty-four  privates  and  six  cor- 
porals whom  he  later  discharged  for  their  disaffection 
were  all  or  most  of  them  members  of  the  same  Baptist 
church."  The  imprisoned  officers  were  in  correspond- 
ence with  members  of  the  London  militia,  and  at  a 
meeting  of  the  commissioners  of  that  body  Kiffin, 
Moyer,  Fenton,  Jessey,  and  others  secured  the  passage, 
by  a  close  vote,  of  a  resolution  to  send  a  letter  to  Monck 

°"  There  was  a  report  that  the  subaltern  officers  were  dissatisfied  with 
the  committee,  and  wished  to  reject  six  of  the  nominees,  substituting  for 
them  Harrison  and  five  other  extreme  sectaries.  There  was  especial 
objection  to  Lambert,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not  religious.  Bor- 
deaux to  Mazarin,  Oct.  27/Nov.  6,  1659,  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts. 

^^  Post,  Nov.  1-8,  1659;  Weekly  Intelligencer,  same  date;  Faithful  In- 
telligencer, Nov.  29-Dec.  3 ;  Monck  to  Fleetwood,  Nov.  7,  Clarke  Papers, 
IV,  105,  and  note  i.  Robson  to  Monck,  Nov.  29,  ibid.,  160.  Timothy 
Wilkes,  one  of  Monck's  commissioners,  was  a  member  of  Feake's 
church.  He  was  suspected  of  having  betrayed  Monck's  interests  to  the 
army  party.     Berners  to  Hobart,  Nov.  2<},  ibid.,  299. 


OVERTURNING  I93 

expressing  a  dislike  of  his  proceedings,  telling  him 
that  he  could  not  depend  on  the  support  of  the  militia, 
and  asking  him  to  release  the  officers  he  had  impris- 
oned. At  a  subsequent  meeting,  this  vote  was  reversed, 
and  an  attempt  was  made  to  keep  the  matter  a  secret, 
but  the  letter  got  into  print,  and  naturally  enough,  in 
view  of  the  names  of  the  promoters,  the  whole  project 
was  considered  a  Baptist  one." 

On  the  whole,  the  conservative  estimate  of  the  Bap- 
tist position  may  again  be  supposed  to  be  the  one  given 
by  William  Allen  the  minister,  who  wrote :  "  However 
the  so-called  sectarian  party,  having  their  eye  so  much 
upon  the  Army,  as  their  only  visible  security,  are 
thereby  under  a  great  temptation  to  make  the  best  of  a 
bad  matter  and  to  cast  in  their  lot  at  a  venture  with  the 
Army,  yet  some  there  are  of  them  that  are  so  farr  dis- 
sattisfied  .  .  .  with  the  late  proceedings  of  the  Army, 
as  that  they  dare  not  doe  any  thing  that  lookes  like  an 
espousing  of  their  quarrill  against  those  whose  author- 
ity over  them,  they  had  so  lately  acknowledged  as 
supreame."  "    The  man  in  the  street,  however,  made  no 

^- to   Clarke,   Nov.   3,    1659,   Clarke  Papers,   IV,   91;    Newsletter, 

Nov.  s.  ibid.,  101;  Scout,  Nov.  4-1 1. 

^'  Allen  to  Baxter,  Nov.  8,  1659,  Baxter  letters,  IV,  fol.  274.  See  also 
same  to  same,  Dec.  30,  id.,  I,  189,  where  he  speaks  of  having  remon- 
strated with  Fleetwood  himself.  A  publication  by  another  Baptist  pastor 
ex])ressed  the  sentiment  that  the  Parliament  had  only  been  recalled  to 
meet  a  temporary  exigency;  that  "most  of  the  eminent  good  things 
they  did  were  by  force  squeezed  from  them  ",  and  that  some  other  body, 
chosen  for  the  present  situation,  would  be  as  lawful  an  authority  as  it, 
and  more  likely  to  answer  the  desires  of  all  good  people.  Eighteen 
Questions  Propounded,  to  Put  the  great  Question  between  the  Army  and 
their  dissenting  Brethren,  out  of  Question,  {Viz.)  Whether  the  best 
way  to  secure  the  Government  of  these  Nations,  in  the  way  of  a  Free- 
State,  without  a  Single  Person,  King,  or  House  of  Lords;  Together  with 
our  Liberties,  as  Men  and  Christians,  Be  either  to  Chuse  a  New  and  Free 
Parliament,  or  else  to  Restore  the  last  Long  Parliament.  Published  by 
Jer.  Ives,  Nov.  21,   1659. 

14 


194      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

such  distinctions,  but  classed  the  sectaries,  and  espe- 
cially the  Baptists,  as  supporting  the  army  in  a  body. 
"  Whether  ever  any  Commonwealth  will  trust  the  Bap- 
tized Churches  again  ",  ran  a  query,  "  seeing  they  have 
dealt  thus  perfideously  with  the  Honourable  Parlia- 
ment, who  (as  the  Fathers  of  the  Nation)  were  pleased 
to  put  part  of  the  Militia  into  their  hands,  for  the  se- 
curity of  the  Priviledges  of  Parliament,  and  Freedoms 
of  all  men,  against  Domestic  and  Forraign  Enemies : 
yet  they  have  malitiously  and  shamefully  betrayed 
their  Trust,  in  opposing  the  Parliament,  from  whom 
they  had  their  Commissions  ;  and  have  sided  with  those 
Traytors  which  interrupted  the  Parliament  in  October 
13,  59,  which  will  be  as  a  Brand  upon  the  Churchmen 
for  ever,  except  they  come  in,  and  now  appear  with 
General  Monck,  and  the  rest  of  the  true  English  men, 
for  the   re-establishing  the   Parliament."" 

Besides  such  reflections  upon  the  Baptists  there  were 
reports,  spread  by  Royalists  and  people  obsessed  by 
thoughts  of  Miinster  and  John  of  Leyden,  that  the 
Anabaptists  were  planning  an  appeal  to  arms."  Reflec- 
tions thus  cast  upon  them  as  a  denomination  some  Bap- 
tists felt  needed  a  specific  denial,  A  declaration  signed 
by  the  leading  Particular  Baptists  of  London,  and  by 
some  General  Baptists,  was  issued  December  12.  It 
stated  that,  while  they  could  not  pretend  to  justify  all 
the  actions  of  every  individual  member  of  their  denomi- 
nation, any  more  than  Independents  or  Presbyterians 
could,  the  practice  of  Baptists  was  "  to  be  obedient  to 
Magistracy  in  all  things  Civil,  and  willing  to  live  peace- 

"  The  Northern  Queries  from  the  Lord  General  Monck,  his  Quarters, 
Nov.  7,  1659   (Thomason). 

■**  Bordeaux  to  Mazarin,   Dec.    12/22,   15/25,   P.   R.   O.  Transcripts. 


OVERTURNING  195 

ably,  under  whatever  Government  is,  and  shall  be  estab- 
lished in  this  Nation  ".  They  denied  the  reports  that 
they  entertained  designs  against  those  who  held  differ- 
ent religious  views,  or  that  they  desired  to  tolerate  civil 
or  ecclesiastical  miscarriages  under  pretence  of  liberty 
of  conscience,  or  that  they  had  intentions  against  the 
peace  of  the  city,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  any  pre- 
tending to  be  Baptists  who  caused  breaches  of  the  peace 
would  be  duly  punished."' 

Those  Baptists  who  were  Commonwealth  men,  if 
they  concurred  in  this  declaration,  must  have  made  the 
mental  reservation  that  the  committee  in  charge  of  af- 
fairs was  not  an  established  government,  and  indeed 
the  events  of  the  following  fortnight  justified  them  in 
such  an  opinion.  Lawson,  Overton,  Rich,  Okey, 
Alured,  Eyre,  Streater,  and  Saunders  distinguished 
themselves  as  champions  of  the  interrupted  Rump,  and 
received  marks  of  that  body's  gratitude  when  the  mili- 
tary government  was  proved  a  failure,  and  the  officers 
were  forced  to  reseat  the  twice-expelled  remnant  at 
Westminster,  Thanks  to  them,  the  sectaries  might 
have  laid  claim  to  the  distinction  of  having  had  a  part 
in  the  setting-up  of  every  form  of  government  tried  in 
England  throughout  the  whole  period. 

But  there  the  end  came.  With  the  second  restoration 
of  the  Long  Parliament  coincided  the  disappearance  of 
the  sectaries  as  a  political  force.  The  behavior  of  the 
restored  Rump  was,  naturally,  triumphant.     The  sec- 

^A  Declaration  of  several  of  the  People  called  Anabaptists,  in  and 
about  the  City  of  London.  December  12,  1659  (Guildhall  library).  Two 
protests  were  made  against  this  declaration  by  Baptist  bodies,  but  one 
was  entirely  on  the  grounds  of  its  limiting  toleration  to  Protestant 
Christians,  the  other  opposed  taking  any  part  in  aiTairs  of  government, 
beyond  verbal  testimony.     See  above,  p.  8. 


196      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

taries  who  had  not  been  active  on  its  behalf  were 
weeded  out  in  that  prompt  reorganization  of  the  army 
wherein,  it  was  said,  scarce  one  officer  in  ten  retained 
his  command."  This,  with  the  skilful  manipulation  of 
the  forces  by  Monck  somewhat  later,  took  away  from 
the  sectaries  any  possibility  of  power  to  do  overturning 
work  in  the  future. 

One  group,  however,  raised  its  voice  to  the  last.  On 
the  day  following  the  tumults  in  the  city,  by  which 
Londoners  signified  their  desire  that  Parliament  fill  up 
the  vacancies  in  its  ranks,  Praise-God  Barbone  ap- 
peared in  the  House  to  clear  himself  and  his  followers 
from  the  blame  of  any  participation  in  the  outbreak,  and 
to  present  a  petition.  He  said  in  making  the  presentation 
that  the  petitioners  were  such  as  had  always  adhered  to 
the  Parhament,  and  were  ready  to  defend  it  against 
all  attacks.  The  petition  was  a  request  that  all  clergy- 
men and  officials  should  be  obliged  to  take  an  oath 
against  Charles  Stuart.  The  petitioners  were  thanked 
for  "  this  their  love  and  care  of  the  Commonwealth  ", 
but  that  evening  the  apprentices  showed  their  opinion 
of  such  love  and  care  by  breaking  all  the  windows  in 
Barbone's  house  in  the  Strand.^' 

This  petition  played  directly  into  the  hands  of  the 
Royalists.     Straightway  appeared  a  host  of  burlesque 

^^  Firth,  in  Cambridge  Modern  History,  IV,  548.  A  pamphlet  rejoic- 
ing over  the  return  of  the  Rump  said,  "  The  Anabaptist  was  thicker  in 
office  than  any  other  persuasion,  but  immediately  before  this  turn,  yet 
could  hee  not  keep  it,  nor  stem  the  tyde,  when  the  turn  came  ".  A 
Coffin  for  the  Good  Old  Cause,  Feb.  2,  1659/60  (Thomason). 

"'  Rugge,  Diurnall;  Commons  Journals,  Feb.  9,  1660;  Text  of  the 
petition  in  The  Picture  of  the  Good  Old  Cause  drawn  to  the  Life,  July 
14,  1660.  Cf.  That  Wicked  and  Blasphemous  Petition  of  Praise  God 
Barebonc;  The  Illegal  and  Immodest  Petition  of  Praise-God  Barebone. 
All  in  Thomason  tracts. 


OVERTURNING  I97 

petitions  and  mock  manifestoes,  which  held  the  Baptists 
up  to  ridicule,  generally  representing-  them  as  mad  fel- 
lows, sometimes  suggesting  that  their  madness  might 
be  dangerous/" 

As  usual  there  was  no  difficulty  in  stirring  up  a  panic. 
William  Kiflin  and  three  other  Baptists  were  one  day 
arrested  and  their  houses  searched  for  arms.  They 
were  released  after  three  days,  but  report  had  it  that 
the  Anabaptists  had  been  preparing  to  rise  and  cut  the 
throats  of  all  who  were  not  of  their  judgment,  and  that 
enough  anns  for  a  thousand  men  had  been  found.  All 
this  was  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  newspapers  stated 
that  the  arrest  had  been  a  mistake,  and  gave  a  list  of 
the  arms  found,  which  consisted  of  two  drums,  one 
partizan,  five  old  pikes,  and  six  swords.  A  fortnight 
later  the  General  Baptists  felt  it  necessary  to  deny  the 
persistent  rumors  that  a  supply  of  arms  had  been  found ; 
that  the  Baptists  had  gathered  "  knives,  hooked  knives, 
and  the  like  ",  for  the  purpose  of  murdering  all  who 
held  other  views  on  religious  matters  than  their  own.™ 
The  panic  was  by  no  means  confined  to  London,  and  did 
not  die  out  until  the  reorganization  of  the  militia  had 
taken  arms  away  from  the  sectaries.""^ 

"  The  Humble  Petition  and  Recantation  of  many  dissatisfied  Persons 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Anabaptists  (Brit.  Mus.);  Life  and 
Approaching  Death  of  William  KitKn,  March  13;  Phanaticke  Intelligencer, 
March  24;  Pluxnatique  League  and  Covenant,  March  24;  An  Humble 
Petition  on  the  behalf  of  many  Thousands  of  Quakers,  Fifth  Monarchy 
men.  Anabaptists,  etc.,  Feb.  14  (Thomason).  One  bore  such  an  appear- 
ance of  genuineness  that  the  Baptists  thought  it  necessary  to  have  it 
denounced  as  a  libel:  A  Serious  Manifesto  and  Declaration  of  the  Ana- 
baptist and  other  Congregational  Churches,  Feb.  28,  1659/60  (Thomason); 
Mercurius  Politicus,  Feb.  23-Mar.   i. 

'^  Ibid.;  Rugge,  Diurnall;  Letter  sent  to  .  .  .  the  Lord  Mayor  (Thoma- 
son); Confessions  of  Faith  (Hansard  Knollys  Soc),  119. 

"^Letter  from  Shrewsbury,  March  i,  1659/60  (Thomason);  Phillips, 
Continuation,  435,  438. 


198      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Although  it  was  the  Baptists  who  were  regarded  as 
the  most  dangerous  sectaries  during  these  last  days  of 
the  Commonwealth,  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  were 
not  entirely  inactive.  As  early  as  the  preceding  Novem- 
ber one  of  them  had  pointed  out  that  the  logical  out- 
come of  the  assembling  of  a  Parliament  would  be  the 
restoration  of  the  Stuarts.""  Another  a  few  days  later 
had  presented  to  the  army  committee  A  Claim  for 
Christ  and  his  Laws,  which  is  apprehended  to  be  the 
Good  Old  Cause,  by  several  well-wishers  thereunto. 
This  suggested  that  Christ  be  proclaimed  king  and  law- 
giver, that  no  laws  not  in  accordance  with  the  Scrip- 
tures be  enacted,  and  that  only  men  of  a  right  spirit  be 
chosen  to  take  part  in  the  government."^  William  Allen 
had  once  more  attempted  to  arouse  the  old  spirit  in  the 
army,  but  by  that  time  Monck  had  taken  care  that  such 
appeals  could  arouse  no  effectual  response."* 

After  the  secluded  members  had  been  admitted,  and 
the  House  had  become  a  Presbyterian  body,  it  could  of 
course  no  longer  claim  the  support  of  any  body  of  sec- 
taries, and  doubtless  many  of  them  joined  in  the  risings 
of  groups  of  citizens  and  soldiers  in  different  parts  of 
the  country,  which  were  so  easily  put  down  by  Monck's 
remodelled  army."'  While  the  elections  for  the  Con- 
vention Parliament  were  going  on,  attempts  were  made 
to  make  it  appear  that  there  was  a  concerted  movement 
under  way.     Among  the  state  papers  are  some  inter- 

^  A  Reply  to  Mr.  William  Prinne,  Nov.  26,  1659  (Thomason). 

*°  Printed  by  Canne  in  Occurrences  from  Forraign  Parts,  Nov.  27- 
Dec.  7,  1659.  See  also  A  Faithfull  Searching  Home  Word,  Dec.  13 
(Thomason). 

^  Word  to  the  Army,   1660   (Brit.  Mus.). 

"'  Vv'illiamson  to  Cheverel,  March  2,  Ormonde  MSS.  (Hist.  MSS. 
Comm.,  Report,  1902,  334);  Barwick  to  Hyde,  March  6,  14,  Thurloe, 
VII,  8s4.  861. 


OVERTURNING  199 

cepted  letters,  very  evidently  forgeries,  which  pur- 
ported to  reveal  a  plot  of  incredible  dimensions,  headed 
by  Desborough,  and  carried  on  by  the  best-known  of 
the  Levellers,  Baptists,  Commonwealth  men,  and  Fifth 
Monarchists.""  Warrants  were  issued  for  the  arrest  of 
Courtney,  Allen,  and  Vernon,  either  in  this  connection 
or  in  the  belief  that  they  were  planning  to  assist  Lam- 
bert ;  and  Praise-God  Barbone,  summoned  before  the 
Council  of  State,  pledged  that  he  would  take  no  action 
against  the  government."  There  were  reports  of  fa- 
natic activity  in  Yarmouth,  Cardiff,  and  Lyme  Regis,  and 
when  on  April  9  Lambert  escaped  from  the  Tower  and 
led  an  abortive  rising  in  Northamptonshire,  a  number 
of  sectaries  flocked  to  his  standard.  The  greater  num- 
ber stayed  quietly  at  home,  however,  and  apparently 
did  not  even  busy  themselves  with  the  committal  of 
their  grievances  to  paper ;  although  the  scarcity  of 
pamphlet  literature  of  that  description  can  be  ascribed 
partly  to  the  activity  of  the  government  in  prosecuting 
publishers.  The  redoubtable  Livewell  Chapman  was  at 
the  time  a  fugitive  from  justice  on  that  account.** 

This  quietness  of  the  sectaries,  their  "  stupid  con- 
sternation ",  was  very  noteworthy.  The  explanation 
given  by  a  Royalist  was  that  "  God  had  disarmed  their 
spirits  of  that  violence  that  had  so  long  possessed  them, 
even  to  their  personating  a  concurrent  Contentment  in 
this  strange  mutation  of  affairs  ".*' 

Whether  their  silence  was  merely  that  of  despair,  or 
whether  they,  like  the  great  majority  of  Englishmen, 

•9  Cal.  St.  P.,  Dom.,  1660,  407,  409  ff. ;  Parliamentary  Intelligencer, 
April  2-9,   1660. 

*"  Phillips,  Continuation,  440;   Rugge,  Diurnall. 

'^Parliamentary  Intelligencer,  March  26-April  2,  April  2-9,  16-23, 
1660;  Mcrcurius  Politicus,  April  19-26. 

"  Phillips,  Contimiation,  441. 


200      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

tired  of  the  confusion  of  the  past  months,  and  of 
rapidly  succeeding  changes  of  government,  saw  in  the 
return  of  monarchy  the  possibiHty  of  a  return  to  peace 
and  stability,  to  uninterrupted  trade  and  reasonable 
prosperity,  the  Baptists  no  longer  interfered  in  public 
affairs,  hoping  perhaps  that,  if  they  lived  peaceably,  a 
grateful  monarch  would  not  deny  them  liberty  of  con- 
science. The  Fifth  Monarchy  men  had  not,  indeed, 
given  up  the  struggle,  as  Venner's  plot  the  following 
year  was  to  show.  But  for  the  time  being  they  were 
quiescent,  comforting  themselves,  it  may  be,  with  the 
thought  that  He  who  in  the  last  few  months  had  over- 
turned so  many  governments  which  had  failed  to  heed 
the  warnings  of  the  saints,  would  never  allow  the  crown 
of  England  to  remain  long  upon  the  head  of  Charles 
Stuart. 

Such  were  the  activities  of  Baptists  and  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  from  Little  Parliament  to  Convention  Par- 
liament. How  far  were  they  important  in  their  effect 
upon  the  history  of  England? 

The  Little  Parliament  failed  when  it  did  because 
the  moderate  men  who  made  up  the  majority  of  its 
members  were  unable  to  carry  with  them  the  small 
body  of  religious  enthusiasts  who  were  striving  to  re- 
mould the  government  on  Scriptural  lines.  These  men 
knew  not  compromise,  and  their  preachers  throughout 
the  Parliament's  life  kept  before  them  the  ideals  for 
which  they  were  striving,  and  held  up  to  execration  any 
signs  of  departure  from  those  ideals.  To  ultimate  failure 
the  Little  Parliament  was  foredoomed ;  but  if  the  two 
factions  had  been  able  to  pull  together  for  a  few  months 
longer,  Cromwell  would  not  have  been  driven  to  the 


OVERTURNING  201 

adoption  of  a  hastily-formed  constitution,  based  on 
military  power  and  abounding  in  imperfections ;  and 
the  Protectorate,  with  a  more  workable  Instrument  of 
Government,  would  have  had  better  chances  of  suc- 
cess. Cromwell  himself  declared  that  it  was  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  who  had  directed  the  policy  of  the 
radicals,  and  by  their  extravagance  rendered  the  suc- 
cess of  the  experiment  impossible."  And,  although 
investigation  shows  that  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  were 
unable  to  bring  the  other  radicals  to  the  adoption  of  the 
more  extreme  features  of  their  policy,  we  have  seen 
that  it  was  the  refusal  of  the  whole  radical  wing  to  com- 
promise on  the  subject  of  tithes,  a  matter  on  which 
Baptists  and  Fifth  Monarchy  men  agreed,  which 
brought  to  an  end  the  Little  Assembly. 

When  the  Protectorate  was  established,  the  violent 
opposition  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  preachers  was  one 
of  the  reasons  which  led  Cromwell  to  issue  the  ordi- 
nance on  treason,  and  the  existence  of  that  ordinance, 
in  its  turn,  forced  him,  unless  he  was  willing  to  see  men 
put  to  death  for  proclaiming  their  honest  convictions, 
to  keep  men  in  prison  without  trial.  This  refusal  of  a 
legal  trial  was  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  that  came 
to  be  used  against  the  Cromwellian  regime.  If  Crom- 
well had  been  willing  to  use  harsh  measures  with  hostile 
preachers  and  pamphleteers,  he  might  have  been  able 
to  stem  the  swelling  tide  of  opposition,  but  his  very 
leniency  became  a  weapon  against  him,  and  their  con- 
tinual agitations,  both  in  and  out  of  prison,  kept  con- 
stantly before  the  people  the  real  as  well  as  the  fancied 
defects  of  the  Protectorate,  and  prevented  it  from  gain- 
ing a  hold  upon  their  affections.    The  Levellers  and  the 

'"April  21,  1657.     Stainer,  Speeches,  329. 


202      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

Commonwealth  men  were  working  to  the  same  end,  and 
not  without  effect,  but  in  that  age  it  was  the  appeal 
made  upon  religious  grounds  which  could  count  upon 
the  most  enthusiastic  response. 

The  unrestrained  language  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
writers  and  preachers,  their  bitter  attacks  upon  him 
from  the  pulpit  and  from  the  press,  were  not  merely  a 
continual  source  of  sorrow  and  embarrassment  to 
Cromwell ;  their  extravagances  of  idea  and  of  language 
destroyed  his  belief  in  the  priesthood  of  believers,  and 
strengthened  his  growing  conviction  that  an  organized 
church  and  a  regulated  ministry  were  necessary  for  the 
peace  of  the  state.  This  it  was  that  brought  upon  him 
the  opposition  of  the  Baptists. 

That  opposition,  however,  was  slow  in  growing. 
We  have  seen  that  the  Baptist  churches,  as  organiza- 
tions, took  little  public  action  against  the  Protectorate. 
In  1654  the  General  Baptists  of  all  England  formally 
recognized  the  Protectorate  ;  in  the  same  year  the  lead- 
ing Particular  Baptists  of  London  expressed  their  ap- 
proval of  the  government,  and  the  churches  of  Baptist 
soldiers  in  Scotland  sent  Cromwell  a  loyal  address. 
Expressions  of  satisfaction  with  his  government  came 
from  various  churches  after  the  dissolution  of  the  first 
Protectorate  Parliament,  and  in  1656  the  General  Bap- 
tists again  counselled  submission  to  the  government, 
and  some  of  the  Welsh  churches  expressed  approval  of 
its  righteousness.  Throughout  this  time  individual 
Baptists  like  Canne,  Simpson,  Powell,  Hobson,  Vernon, 
and  Allen  could  be  cited  as  disturbers  of  the  peace,  but 
on  the  other  hand,  Kiffin,  Richardson,  Steele,  Henry 
Lawrence,  John  Spilsbury,  and  Thomas  Cooper  made 
equally  strenuous,  if  less  conspicuous  efforts  to  serve 


OVERTURNING  203 

the  government  and  to  maintain  the  peace.  As  far  as 
the  Baptists,  as  Baptists,  had  a  poHtical  program  it  was 
based  upon  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  liberty  of  con- 
science and  voluntaryism  in  religion,  and  they  showed 
a  willingness  to  accede  to  any  form  of  government 
which  gave  promise  of  maintaining  those  principles. 
But  when  the  defects  of  the  Instrument  of  Govern- 
ment, and  the  prevailing  discontent,  gave  rise  to  the 
attempt  to  remedy  the  situation  by  re-establishing  the 
monarchy,  the  Baptists,  who  saw  in  that  form  of  gov- 
ernment the  absolute  denial  of  their  most  cherished 
principles,  went  into  opposition.  That  opposition, 
voiced  as  it  was  by  fighting  Baptists  as  well  as  by  pray- 
ing ones,  played  a  not  unimportant  part  in  the  refusal 
of  the  crown.  When  it  developed  that  the  failure  of  the 
kingship  did  not  mean  the  triumph  of  religious  liberty, 
the  Baptists  as  well  as  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  were 
bound  to  be  true  to  their  principles,  and  it  was  at  this 
point  that  the  efforts  of  the  latter  to  have  their  program 
officially  adopted  by  the  former  showed  signs  of  a 
possible  success. 

From  the  beginning  the  Baptist  churches  had  been  a 
great  recruiting  ground  for  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men, 
unsuccessful  as  these  were  in  gaining  their  official  sup- 
port. The  majority  of  the  churches  represented  in  the 
Fifth  Monarchy  manifesto  in  the  fall  of  1654  were 
Baptist,  the  work  of  Powell  in  Wales  was  chiefly  among 
Baptist  churches,  the  whole  Welsh  movement  being 
generally  considered  a  Baptist  one,  and  the  Norfolk  agi- 
tation of  1656  was  for  the  most  part  Baptist.  The  pro- 
portion of  Baptists  among  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men 
cannot  be  estimated  exactly,  but  the  indications  show 
that  the  number  was  steadily  increasing  throughout  the 


204      BAPTISTS  AND  FIFTH  MONARCHY  MEN 

days  of  the  Protectorate.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  to 
Cromwell  and  his  supporters  the  fact  that  behind  the 
fanatics  in  the  pulpits,  and  likely  to  be  swayed  by  their 
arguments,  lay  this  great  silent  body  in  the  army  and  in 
civil  life,  would  seem  not  the  least  of  the  perils  that 
menaced  the  government.  The  opposition  of  a  class  of 
men  whose  sincerity  he  respected  added  its  weight  to 
the  burden  of  Cromwell  during  the  closing  days  of  his 
life,  and  well-nigh  drove  him  to  abandon  that  advocacy 
of  religious  tolerance  which  distinguished  him  above 
all  the  men  of  that  age. 

After  Cromwell's  death,  Baptists  and  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  took  part  in  all  the  changes  of  government 
which  were  bringing  England  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
return  of  that  absolutism  which  was  more  than  all  else 
abhorrent  to  them,  and  they  thus  contributed  no  little 
toward  bringing  about  what  was  to  them  the  final  catas- 
trophe. Unable  to  realize  that  the  Protectorate  was 
their  only  bulwark  against  the  return  of  the  Stuarts, 
they  worked  for  its  overthrow,  and  then  persuaded 
themselves  that  the  restoration  of  the  mutilated  Long 
Parliament  was  the  next  step  toward  the  establishment 
of  a  satisfactory  Commonwealth.  The  conservatism 
of  the  religious  policy  adopted  by  that  body,  once  re- 
seated, convinced  many  of  them,  probably  the  majority, 
that  its  recall  had  been  a  mistake,  and  the  activities  of 
their  divided  forces  furnished  substantial  assistance  to 
the  Royalists,  by  giving  them  an  opportunity  to  utilize 
the  popular  prejudice  against  Anabaptists,  and  thus 
divert  attention  from  their  own  projects. 

Yet  the  division  of  the  sectarian  forces  indicated 
merely  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  best  means  to 
be  employed,  none  at  all  as  to  the  ultimate  end  to  be 


OVERTURNING  205 

gained.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  throughout  the 
whole  period  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men  and  the  radical 
Baptists  had  pointed  out,  in  their  pamphlets  and  in  their 
sermons,  that  once,  and  once  only,  had  England  placed 
its  destinies  in  the  hands  of  men  who  might  have  estab- 
lished a  righteous  government — the  "  faithful  remnant  " 
of  the  Little  Assembly.  The  only  explanation  they 
could  find  for  the  failure  of  that  experiment  was  that 
England  was  not  ready  for  it — that  its  people  were  not 
yet  sufficiently  enlightened.  The  counsels  of  the  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  were  counsels  of  perfection,  and  they 
proffered  them  to  an  imperfect  world.  Mr.  Gardiner 
has  pointed  out  that  the  nominated  Parliament  touched 
the  high-water  mark  of  Puritanism  ;  that  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Protectorate  the  ebb  had  set  in.  Therein 
lies  the  importance  of  the  men  we  have  been  studying. 
As  the  Anabaptists  of  Germany  carried  the  principles 
of  the  Reformation  to  their  logical  conclusion,  so  these 
Englishmen  of  the  seventeenth  century  carried  to  their 
logical  conclusion  the  principles  of  Puritanism.  Refus- 
ing to  barter  with  evil,  refusing  to  compromise  or  to 
give  ground,  they  stood  for  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  state, 
and  in  the  struggle  to  realize  that  ideal  they  succeeded 
only  in  contributing  to  the  failure  of  the  compromise 
represented  by  the  Protectorate,  and  in  aiding  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  absolutism  of  the  Stuarts. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 

The  most  valuable  body  of  material  for  this  study 
has  been  the  Thurloe  Papers,  of  which  the  originals  are 
in  the  Bodleian  Library.  Comprising-,  as  they  do,  let- 
ters and  papers  from  all  sources,  representing,  and — 
since  they  were  not  intended  for  the  public  eye — frankly 
expressing  all  shades  of  opinion,  they  shed  a  flood  of 
light  upon  what  the  members  of  the  two  parties 
thought,  and  upon  what  others  thought  of  them.  Be- 
cause of  the  suspicion  with  which  Baptists  and  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  were  regarded,  an  especially  close 
watch  was  kept  upon  their  correspondence,  and  a  large 
number  of  their  letters  are  to  be  found  here,  as  well  as 
numerous  reports,  from  outsiders,  of  their  assemblies 
and  activities.  Some  of  the  most  illuminating  of  these 
are  among  the  papers  not  published  by  Birch  when  he 
edited  the  TImrloe  Papers.  A  few  have  been  pub- 
lished since,  notably  two  in  the  preface  to  volume  II  of 
Professor  Firth's  edition  of  the  Clarke  Papers.  Sup- 
plementing these  are  the  papers  of  a  similar  nature, 
collected  by  Birch  and  probably  originally  in  the  same 
collection,  which  are  now  among  the  Additional  MSS. 
in  the  British  Museum. 

The  four  volumes  of  the  Clarke  Papers,  edited  by 
Professor  Firth  for  the  Camden  Society,  and  the  vol- 
ume from  the  same  collection  issued  under  the  title  of 
Scotland  and  the  Protectorate,  shed  much  light  on  the 
activities  of  Baptists  and  Fifth  Monarchy  men  in  the 
army,  and  furnish  such  news  regarding  their  parties 
207 


2o8  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

as  it  was  judged  wise  to  put  into  newsletters  for  mili- 
tary perusal.  Some  useful  letters  are  to  be  found 
among  the  Carte,  Tanner,  and  Clarendon  MSS.,  and 
among  the  Nicholas  Papers.  Yet,  since  the  Royalists 
seldom  took  the  trouble  to  distinguish  between  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  Independency,  these  letters  are  of  much 
less  value  for  the  present  purpose.  Similarly  the  French 
ambassador  Bordeaux,  though  extremely  well-informed 
as  to  events,  was  apt  to  mal<:e  a  most  comprehensive 
application  of  the  term  Anabaptist.  The  letters  of 
Thurloe  to  Pell,  of  which  the  most  important  were  pub- 
lished by  Vaughan,  are  much  more  exact  in  this  respect. 
The  correspondence  of  Henry  Cromwell,  which  was 
probably  preserved  by  his  private  secretar}^  Petty,  and 
through  him  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Shelbourne 
family,  from  whom  the  British  Museum  purchased  it, 
is  absolutely  invaluable  for  the  situation  in  Ireland, 
although  unfortunately  the  letters  for  the  most  part 
represent  only  the  side  hostile  to  the  Baptists.  The 
letters  of  John  Jones  give  some  glimpse  of  the  other 
side  of  the  picture.  The  Baxter  correspondence  in  the 
Dr.  Williams  Library  sheds  light  on  the  attitude  of  the 
more  liberal  Presbyterians,  and  on  their  efforts  at  ac- 
commodation with  the  Baptists,  Men  of  all  sorts  and 
conditions  wrote  to  Baxter,  and  on  every  possible  sub- 
ject. The  letters  of  William  Allen,  the  Baptist  min- 
ister and  merchant,  which  are  in  this  collection,  make 
frequent  references  to  the  political  situation.  His 
point  of  view  was  that  of  the  Baptist  verging  toward 
Presbyterianism.  The  Swarthmore  Letters,  among 
the  manuscript  collections  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in 
Devonshire  House,  show  the  Baptists  as  they  appeared 
to  the  Quakers,  and  for  this  point  of  view  the  Journal 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  209 

of  Fox  is  useful.  Cromwell's  letters  are  of  course  in- 
dispensable, though  few  deal  directly  with  the  Baptist 
problem.  The  speeches,  too,  are  most  important,  espe- 
cially in  exhibiting  his  change  of  opinion  regarding  the 
Fifth  Monarchy. 

The  papers  edited  by  John  Nickolls  from  among 
Milton's  State  Papers  include  some  letters,  but  are 
chiefly  important  for  the  addresses  from  Baptist 
churches,  showing  the  positions  definitely  adopted  by 
congregations  at  different  times.  In  this  connection 
should  be  mentioned  the  collections  of  addresses,  con- 
fessions of  faith,  and  similar  documents  brought  con- 
veniently together  by  the  Hanserd  Knollys  Society, 
though  all  of  them  are  available  elsewhere.  Useful 
also  have  been  the  volumes  of  documents  issued  by  the 
Baptist  Historical  Society  under  the  editorship  of  Dr. 
Whitley.  Grey,  in  his  Examination  of  Neale's  Puri- 
tans, and  Peck,  in  his  Desiderata  Curiosa,  print  some 
useful  documents.  From  the  Reports  of  the  Historical 
Manuscripts  Commission  have  been  gleaned  scattered 
references  from  widely  differing  collections,  and  for 
matters  of  fact  the  Calendars  of  State  Papers  and  the 
Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons  are  a  mine  of 
information. 

The  records  of  individual  churches  are  extremely 
useful  for  tracing  the  spirit  and  interests  of  the  Bap- 
tists, but  with  very  few  exceptions  they  contain  no  ref- 
erences to  political  affairs.  The  incompleteness  of  the 
records,  and  the  prudence  of  omitting  anything  that 
might  later  get  the  church  into  trouble,  weigh  against 
the  argument  that  since  the  records  are  silent  the 
churches  did  not  discuss  these  affairs.  For  instance, 
the  manuscript  records  of  the  Baptist  church  that  met 


210  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

in  Lothbury,  which  are  for  the  most  part  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Dr.  Peter  Chamberlen,  give  only  two  half- 
pages  of  notes  bearing  on  political  affairs,  and  these 
refer  to  a  single  discussion;  yet  we  know  that  this 
church  took  a  definite  stand  in  the  Fifth  Monarchy 
interest.  The  records  in  Somerset  House  throw  light 
on  the  affiliations  of  individuals,  and  sometimes  contain 
slight  bits  of  information  on  other  matters,  but  for  the 
most  part  consist  merely  of  statistics. 

The  great  collection  of  pamphlets,  broadsides,  and 
newspapers  in  the  British  Museum,  known  as  the 
Thomason  Tracts,  is  singularly  rich  in  material  for  our 
subject.  We  find  there  what  the  men  we  are  studying 
chose  to  tell  the  world  of  themselves  and  their  opinions, 
and  what  their  opponents  and  apologists  chose  to  pub- 
lish about*  them.  The  principal  Fifth  Monarchy  men 
who  published  over  their  own  signatures  were,  for  the 
early  years,  William  Aspinwall  and  John  Spittlehouse ; 
throughout  the  period,  John  Rogers,  and  the  Baptists 
John  Canne  and  Christopher  Feake.  Of  the  moderate 
Baptists,  Samuel  Richardson  wrote  in  defense  of  the 
government,  Jeremiah  Ives  championed  parliamentary 
government,  Thomas  Collier  and  Henry  Denne  relig- 
ious toleration,  while  John  Tombes  confined  himself  to 
doctrinal  matters.  The  Fifth  Monarchy  Baptist,  Wil- 
liam Allen,  was  well  enough  known  as  a  critic  of  the 
government  to  have  his  name  borrowed  for  the  famous 
pamphlet,  Killing  No  Murder.  Thomason's  aim  was 
to  preserve  a  copy  of  every  pamphlet  and  newspaper 
that  came  from  the  press,  and  he  added  to  the  value  of 
his  collection  by  marking  on  each  the  date  on  which  it 
came  into  his  hands,  which  was,  whenever  possible,  the 
date  of  publication.     In  the  majority  of  cases  where 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  211 

Thomason's  dates  can  be  compared  with  the  dates  of 
pubhcation,  they  have  been  proved  correct ;  it  has  ac- 
cordingly been  thought  advisable  to  give  them  in  all 
cases  where  the  exact  date  might  be  of  value.  The 
appearance  of  the  excellent  catalogue  of  the  collection, 
edited  by  Mr.  Fortescue,  has  made  it  no  longer  impera- 
tive to  give  the  press  numbers  of  these  tracts ;  they  are, 
however,  included  in  the  bibliography,  though  not  in 
the  foot-notes.  The  names  of  publishers  are  usually 
given  when  they  appear,  as  they  frequently  supply  a 
clue  to  the  nature  of  the  tract.  Henry  Hills,  a  promi- 
nent Baptist,  usually  brought  out  Baptist  productions, 
and  Francis  Smith,  a  General  Baptist,  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  period  published  General  Baptist  literature. 
John  Streater's  prosperous  business  was  also  begun  in 
the  latter  days  of  our  period,  but  he  published  repub- 
lican rather  than  Baptist  works.  As  might  be  expected, 
the  collection  is  far  richer  in  Fifth  Monarchy  than  in 
Baptist  productions,  and  these  were  usually  brought 
out  by  one  or  other  of  the  ultra-republican  printers, 
Livew^ell  Chapman  and  Giles  Calvert ;  less  frequently 
by  Thomas  Brewster,  who  was  a  great  purveyor  of 
Quaker  literature.  Hills  and  Field  were  the  official 
printers  of  the  Protectorate,  and  the  works  printed  with 
the  names  of  both  men  are  usually  of  an  official  char- 
acter. In  the  same  way  the  newspapers  reflected  the 
prejudices  of  their  editors.  The  Scout  and  Post,  edited 
as  they  were  by  a  Baptist,  looked  with  a  very  favorable 
eye  upon  the  sectaries,  and  the  Perfect  Diurnall  was 
also  of  a  liberal  tone.  Mercurius  Politicus  and  the 
Puhlick  Intelligencer  were  government  organs,  and 
anti-sectarian  to  a  degree:  from  October,  1655,  till  the 
last  days  of  the  Protectorate  they  were  the  only  news- 


212  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  XOTES 

papers  in  existence,  and  consequently  the  only  news- 
paper references  to  Fiftli  Monarchy  men  and  Baptists 
during  that  time  are  such  as  ser\-ed  the  government's 
purpose.  From  the  middle  of  May  till  the  middle  of 
August,  1659,  ho\Yever,  these  papers  were  edited  by  a 
Fifth  Monarchy  Baptist,  who  later  had  a  hand  in  the 
two  papers,  Particular  Adz-ice  and  Perfect  Occurrences. 
Rugge's  Diurnall  supplements  the  newspapers  for  the 
period  immediately  preceding  the  Restoration,  but  adds 
little  of  value  for  us.  ^^luch  useful  information  regard- 
ing the  newspapers  is  contained  in  Williams's  History 
of  English  Journalism,  but  its  value  is  seriously  im- 
paired by  the  ultra-royalist  prejudices  of  its  author. 
From  the  contemporary-  historians  and  memoir 
writers  little  can  be  gleaned  concerning  our  sectaries. 
The  republican  Ludlow,  though  he  had  many  friends 
among  tlie  Baptists,  had  little  interest  in  them  as  a 
political  factor.  Though  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her 
husband  were  both  Baptists,  she  is  singularly  dumb 
regarding  her  co-religionists,  except  for  t^vo  slighting 
references.  Clarendon  has  the  Royalist  aloofness,  and 
when  he  does  mention  Anabaptists  confounds  them 
with  Levellers  and  Quakers.  Phillips.  Bate,  and  Heath 
trouble  ven.-  little  about  them.  The  theological  writers 
of  the  period  persisted  in  imputing  to  their  fellow- 
countr\Tnen  the  practices  attributed  by  Bullinger  and 
other  Continental  historians  to  Anabaptists,  and  after 
reading  Edwards'  Gangraena,  Blome's  Fanatick  His- 
tory, the  Relation  of  several  Heresies,  or  the  Short 
History  of  the  Anabaptists  of  High  and  Lozv  Germany, 
one  does  not  wonder  that  it  took  little  to  make  the 
average  Englishman  wake  at  night  with  the  fear  of  an 
Anabaptist  knife  at  his  throat. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  213 

The  first  place  among  the  secondary  authorities  be- 
longs, of  course,  to  Samuel  Rawson  Gardiner,  the 
exhaustiveness  of  whose  researches  in  all  fields  makes 
the  work  of  the  gleaner  a  somewhat  thankless  one. 
The  continuation  of  the  work  left  incomplete  by  his 
death,  down  to  the  last  days  of  Oliver's  Protectorate, 
has  been  done  by  the  man  who,  next  to  Gardiner,  was 
best  fitted  for  the  task.  It  is  true  that  the  interest 
of  Professor  Firth  is  rather  in  political  and  military 
than  in  religious  history,  but  his  apparently  unlimited 
knowledge  of  all  the  parties  and  personages  of  the 
times  renders  his  work  of  inestimable  value.  Masson's 
Life  of  Milton  has  charm  of  style  in  addition  to  its 
many  other  admirable  qualities,  and  Godwin's  work  is 
still  useful  on  account  of  his  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  pamphlet  literature.  The  work  of  Ranke  is  mislead- 
ing on  our  special  subject  unless  it  is  constantly  borne  in 
mind  that  he  uses  the  term  Anabaptist  to  cover  all  ad- 
vanced phases  of  Independency;  and  Guizot's  knowl- 
edge of  the  sectaries  was  vague. 

Among  special  studies,  Rogers's  Some  Account  of 
the  Life  and  Opinions  of  a  Fifth  Monarchy  Man  is 
careful  and  accurate  on  the  whole;  Glass's  mono- 
graph on  the  Barbone  Parliament  is  fruitful  of  informa- 
tion, though  irritating  because  of  insufficiently  specific 
references.  Simpkinson's  Thomas  Harrisan  is  notable 
for  this  fault,  and  is  every  way  inferior  to  the  briefer 
biography  by  Professor  Firth. 

Of  the  church  histories.  Dr.  Shaw's  is  practically  the 
only  one  unmarred  by  theological  bias,  and  unfortu- 
nately he  leaves  the  sectaries  severely  alone.  For  one 
who  has  the  courage  to  struggle  through  the  bewildering 
medley  of  document  and  comment  for  which  Hanbury 


214  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

is  responsible,  there  is  some  reward.  The  work  of 
Neale  is  painstaking-  to  a  degree,  as  is  that  of 
Stoughton. 

Among  purely  Baptist  histories,  the  monumental 
work  of  Crosby  is  still  without  a  rival.  It  is  based  on 
the  study  of  manuscript  material,  much  of  which  is  no 
longer  available,  and  the  author  makes  an  heroic  effort 
after  impartiality,  but  without  conspicuous  success. 
Ivimey  leans  heavily  on  Crosby,  and  Evans  on  both,  but 
neither  seems  to  have  emulated  his  attempt  to  be  fair. 
Ivimey  quotes  freely  from  the  Thurloe  Papers,  but 
shows  no  hesitation  in  picking  out  a  favorable  sentence 
from  a  mass  of  hostile  context,  in  triumphant  vindica- 
tion of  the  party  therein  attacked,  ^s  a  corrective,  we 
have  Lewis's  steady  refusal  to  see  anything  good  in 
Anabaptism  or  Anabaptists.  The  copy  of  his  work  in  the 
Bodleian,  interleaved  with  additions  for  a  later  edition, 
and  the  accompanying  collections,  contain  information, 
but  it  must  be  used  with  caution.  Wilson,  in  his  Dis- 
senting Churches,  seems  to  have  been  content  to  found 
his  statements  on  Crosby.  Little  can  be  said  for  the 
later  Baptist  historians,  though  there  is  an  occasional 
exception,  such  as  Culross,  who  in  his  Hanserd 
Knollys  endeavors  to  use  all  the  sources.  The  recent 
studies  of  the  churches  in  various  localities,  too,  usually 
represent  painstaking  research.  Barclay's  Inner  Life, 
from  the  Friends'  standpoint,  represents  much  re- 
search, but  abounds  in  inaccuracies.  Weingarten's 
admirable  work  is  a  model,  and  worthy  of  all  emulation 
for  impartiality,  accuracy,  and  erudition.  The  pages 
devoted  to  our  subject  by  Gooch  are  extremely  well 
done,  and  his  whole  study  is  most  suggestive  for  our 
purpose. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
I.  SOURCES. 
A.  Manuscript. 

I.   COLLECTIONS. 

Baxter,  Richard,  Correspondence,  6  vols.,  Dr.  Williams 
Library,  Gordon  Square,  London. 

Birch  Collection  (Additional  MSS.,  4101-4478),  British  .Mu- 
seum. 

Bordeaux  Letters  (transcripts).  Public  Record  Office,  London 
(cited  as  P.  R.  O.  Transcripts)  ;  Harleian  MSS.,  4546- 
4549,  British  Museum. 

Carte  MSS.,  Bodleian  Library. 

Clarke  MSS.,  27,  50,  Worcester  College  Library,  Oxford. 

Cromwell,  Henry,  Correspondence  (Lansdowne  MSS.,  821- 
823),  British  Museum. 

Pell  Papers  (Lansdowne  MSS.,  745-755),  British  Museum. 

Swarthmore  Letters,  Friends'  Library,  Devonshire  Square, 
London. 

Tanner  MSS.,  Bodleian  Library. 

Thurloe  Papers  (Rawlinson  MSS.,  A  1-73),  Bodleian  Library. 

2.    SINGLE  WORKS. 

Book  of  the  Acts   and  other   Businesses  of  the  Church    [in 

Lothbury],    (Rawlinson   MSS.,  D828),  Bodleian  Library. 

Register  Book  of  the  Congregations  of  Jesus  Christ  in  and 

about  Speldhurst  and  Ponsonby  in  Kent  (Additional  MSS., 

36,709),  British  Museum. 

Registers  of  Dissenting  Churches,  Somerset  House,  London. 

Rugge,  Thomas,  Diurnall   (Additional  MSS.,  11,116),  British 

Museum. 

B.  Printed. 

I.  collections. 

Baillie,  Robert,  Letters  and  Journals,  2  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1775. 

Calendars  of  State  Papers,  Domestic,  1652-1660,  9  vols. 

215 


2i6  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Carte,  T.,  Collection  of  Original  Letters  and  Papers  .  .  .  1641- 
1660,  2  vols.,  London,  1739. 

Clarendon  Papers,  Calendar,  by  W.  D.  Macray,  Oxford,  1872. 

Clarendon  State  Papers,  3  vols.,  Oxford,  1767-1786. 

Clarke  Papers,  edited  by  C.  H.  Firth  (Camden  Soc.  and  (vols. 
Ill,  IV)  Royal  Hist.  Soc),  4  vols.,  1891-1901. 

Commons,  House  of.  Journals. 

Congregational  Historical  Society,  Transactions,  London,  1901- 
1907. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  Letters  and  Speeches,  Carlyle's  collection, 
edited  by  Mrs.  S.  C.  Lomas,  3  vols.,  London,  1904. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  Speeches,  edited  by  C.  L.  Stainer,  London, 
1901. 

Grey,  Zachary,  appendix  of  documents  in  his  Examination  of 
.  .  .  Daniel  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  3  vols.,  London, 
1736-1739- 

Hanserd  Knollys  Society,  Publications,  London,  1846,  1854. 

Harleian  Miscellany,  10  vols.,  London,  1808-1813. 

Historical  MSS.  Commission,  Reports. 

Jones,  John,  Correspondence  (Lancashire  and  Cheshire  His- 
torical Soc),  1860-1861. 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Collections. 

Nicholas  Papers  (Camden  Soc),  3  vols.,  1886-1897. 

Nickolls,  John,  Original  Letters  and  Papers  of  State  addressed 
to  Oliver  Cromwell  .  .  .  Found  among  the  political  col- 
lections of  Mr.  John  Milton,  London,  1743  (cited  as 
Nickolls). 

Peck,  Francis,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  London,  1779. 

Scotland  and  the  Protectorate,  edited  by  C.  H.  Firth  (Scottish 
Historical  Soc),  Edinburgh,  1899. 

Somers,  John,  Collection  of  scarce  and  valuable  tracts,  13  vols., 
London,  1809-1815. 

Thurloe,  John,  A  Collection  of  State  Papers,  edited  by  Thomas 
Birch,  7  vols.,  London,  1742   (referred  to  as  Thurloe). 

Vaughan,  Robert,  The  Protectorate  of  Oliver  Cromwell  (selec- 
tions from  the  Pell  correspondence),  2  vols.,  London,  1839. 

Whitley,  W.  T.,  ed.,  Minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
General  Baptist  Churches  in  England,  with  kindred 
records,  vol.  I,  1654-1728,  London,  1909. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  217 

2.    SINGLE  WORKS. 

Pamphlets  in  the  Thomason  collection  are  designated  by 
their  number,  and  their  dates,  when  in  brackets,  are  those 
placed  on  them  by  Thomason  when  he  acquired  them.  Pam- 
phlets in  the  general  collection  of  the  British  Museum  are  desig- 
nated by  B.  M. 
An  Alarum  to  the  City  and  Souldiery — God  grant  they  may 

not  neglect  it,  [June  6]  1659  (669.  f.  21.  44). 
Allen,  William,  The  Captive  Taken  from  the  Strong,  London, 

Livewell  Chapman,  1658  (B.  M.). 
A  Word  to  the  Army,  Touching  their  Sin  and  Dutic,  London, 

Chapman,  1660  (B.  M.). 
An  Animadversion  upon  the  Late  Lord  Protector's  Declara- 
tion for  the  distressed  Churches  of  Lesna,  &c.     Together 
with  a  seasonable  Caution  against  the  Petition  of  the  Kent- 
ish Anabaptists,   for   too   large   a   Toleration  in  religion, 
London,  [June  20]  1659  (E.  988.  5). 
Animadversions  upon  a  Letter  and  Paper,  first  sent  to   His 
Highness    by    certain   Gentlemen   and   others   in    Wales, 
[Jan.  28]  1656  (E.  865.  5). 
The  Anabaptists'  Catechisme:  with  all  their  Practices,  Meet- 
ings, and  Exercises,  the  names  of  their  pastors,  their  doc- 
trines, disciples:  a  catalogue  of  such  dishes  as  they  usually 
make  choice  of  at  their  feasts  (i.  e.  love  feasts  usually  held 
at  an  inn)   hotv  and  by  whom  they  are  dipped,  &c.  pub- 
lished according  to  the  order  of  their  conventicles.   Printed 
for  R.  A.,  [Sept.  11]  1645  (E.  1185.  8). 
The  Anabaptists  Faith  and  Belief  Opened,  London,  [Sept.  12] 

1659  (669.  f.  21.  72). 
The  Anabaptists  late  Protestation,  or  their  Resolution  to  de- 
part the  City  of  London,  [April  2]  1647  (E.  383.  li). 
An  Answer  to  a  Paper  entituled:  A   True  Narrative  of  the 
Cause  and  Manner  of  the  Dissolution  of  the  late  Parlia- 
ment, London,  G.  Calvert,  [Dec.  12]  1653  (E.  725.  20). 
An  Antidote  against  the  Infection  of  the  Times,  or,  A  Faith- 
full  Watch-word  from  Mount  Sion,  to  prevent  the  ruine 
of  Soules.     Published  for  the  good  of  all  by  the  appoint- 
ment   of    the    Elders    and    Messengers    of    the    severall 
Churches  of  Illston,  Abergevenny,  Trcdinog,  Carmarthen, 


2i8  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hereford,  Brodwardin,  Cledock,  and  Llangors,  meeting 
at  Brecknock  upon  the  2g  and  30  daies  of  the  Fift  moneth 
1656,  London,  Brewster,  1656  (E.  892.  10), 

Archer,  Henry,  The  Personall  Reign  of  Christ  upon  Earth,  B. 
Allen,  [Jan.]  1642  (E.  180.  13). 

The  Arraignment  of  the  Anabaptists  Good  Old  Cause,  with 
the  manner  and  proceedings  of  the  Court  of  Justice  against 
him,  J.  Morgan,  [March  22]  1660  (E.  1017.  32). 

Ashton,  Thomas,  Satan  in  Samuel's  Mantle,  or,  the  cruelty  of 
Germany  acted  in  Jersey,  Containing  the  Arbitrary,  Bloudy, 
and  Tyrannical  proceedings  of  John  Mason,  of  a  baptised 
Church,  London,  T.  R.,  1659  (Bodleian). 

Aspinwall,  William,  A  Brief  Description  of  the  Fifth  Mon- 
archy, or  Kingdome,  that  shortly  is  to  come  into  the  World. 
And  a  prognostic  of  the  time  when  this  fifth  Kingdome 
shall  begin.  Pr.  by  M.  Simmons,  and  sold  by  Livewell 
Chapman,    [Aug.   i]    1653    (E.  708.  8). 

An  Explication  and  Application  of  the  Seventh  Chap- 
ter of  Daniel,  London,  Chapman,  [March  20],  1653/4  (E. 
732.  2). 

The  Legislative  Power  is  Christ's  Peculiar  Preroga- 
tive Proved  from  Isaiah  ix,  6,  7,  London,  Chapman,  [Aug. 
20]   1656  (E.  498.  4). 

A    Premonition    of  Sundry  Sad   Calamities   Yet   to 

Come,  London,  Chapman,  [Nov.  30]  1654  (E.  818.  7). 

Thunder  from  Heaven  against  the  Back-sliders  and 


Apostates  of  the  Times.     Pr.  for  L.  Chapman,  [April  14] 
1655  (E.  831.26). 
The  Work  of  the  Age,  London,  Chapman,  [April  14] 


165s  (E.  832.  I). 

Baillie,  Robert,  Anabaptism,  the  true  Fountaine  of  Indepen- 
dency, Antinomy,  Brownisme,  Familisme,  and  the  most 
of  the  other  Errours  which  doe  trouble  in  the  Church  of 
England,  unsealed,  1646. 

' A  Dissuasive  from  the  errors  of  the  time,  wherein 

the  tenets  of  the  principal  sects  are  drawn. 

The  Banner  of  Truth  Displayed:  or  a  Testimony  for  Christ, 
and  against  Antichrist.  Being  the  Substance  of  severall 
Consultations,  holden,  and  kept  by  a  Certain  Number  of 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  219 

Christians,  who  are  waiting  for  the  Visible  appearance  of 

Christ's   Kingdome,   in    and    over    the  World,    Lo^adon, 

[Sept.  24]    1656   (E.  888.  4)- 
Bartlet,  Richard,  The  New  Birth:  in  zvhich  is  brought  forth 

the  Nezv  Creature,  -mith  a  description  of  the  true  marks 

and  characters  thereof.     Pr.  by  W.  H.  for  L.  Blaiklock, 

[Sept.  7]  1654  (E.  1503.  2). 
Bate,  G.,  Elenchus  Motuum  Nuperorum  in  Anglia,  London, 

1663. 
Baxter,  Richard,  Reliquae  Baxterianae,  London,  1696. 
Blome,  Richard,  The  Fanatick  History,  or  an  Exact  Relation 

and  Account  of  the  Old  Anabaptists  and  New  Quakers, 

1660  (E.  1832.  2). 
Bridge,  William,  Christ's  coming  Opened  in  a  Sermon  before 

the  Honorable  House  of  Commons  in  Margaret's  West- 
minster: May  17,  1648.     Being  the  day  appointed  for  the 

great  Victory  in  Wales,  London,  Peter  Cole,  1648. 
Browne,  Captain  John,  A  Brief  Survey  of  the  Prophetical  and 

Evangelical  Events  of  the  last  Times,  London,  Gertrude 

Dawson,    [Feb.  3]    1655    (E.  826.   18). 
Bunyan,  John,  Grace  abounding  to  the  chief  of  sinners,  London, 

1666. 
Burrough,  Edward,  To  you  that  are  called  Anabaptists  in  the 

nation    of    Ireland,    1657     (Friends'    Reference    Library, 

Devonshire  House,  London). 
Burton,  Thomas,  Diary  of  the  Parliaments  of  1656-1659,  4  vols., 

London,  1828. 
Canne,  John,  The  Acts  and  Monuments  of  our  late  Parliament, 

1659  (E.  1000.  19). 

A  Narrative,  wherein  is  set  forth  the  sufferings  of 

John  Canne,  Wentworth  Day,  John  Clarke  .  .  .  London, 
1658. 

A  Seasonable  Word  to  the  Parliament-Men,  to  take 


with  them  zvhen  they  go  into  the  House,  London,  Chap- 
man, [May  20]  1659  (E.  983.  i). 

Truth  with  Time:    or  certain  reasons  proving   that 

none  of  the  seven  last  plagues  or  evils  are  yet  poured  out, 
London,  1656. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A   Voice  from  the  Temple   to   the  Higher  Powers, 

wherein  is  shewed  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Saints  to  search 
the  Prophecies  of  Holy  Scripture  which  concern  the  Later 
Times.    Pr.  by  M.  Simmons,  [June  13]  1653  (E.  699.  16). 

A  Second  Voyce  from  the  Temple.     Pr.  by  M.  Sim- 


mons, [Aug.  is]  1653  (E.  710.  19). 

The  Case  of  Colonel  Matthew  Alured;  or,  a  short  account  of 
his  sufferings.  Submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  Par- 
liament and  Army.  Pr.  for  L.  Chapman,  [May  23]  1659 
(E.  983.  25). 

The  Cause  of  God,  and  of  these  Nations,  Sought  out,  and  drawn 
forth  from  the  Rubbish  of  the  Lusts  and  Interests  of  Men, 
London,  1659  (Boston  Public  Library). 

Certain  Quaeries  Humbly  presented  in  way  of  Petition  by  many 
Christian  people  throughout  the  County  of  Norfolk  and 
City  of  Norwich  to  the  Lord  General  and  Council  of  War. 
Pr,  for  Giles  Calvert,  1649  (E.  544.  5). 

[Chamberlen,  Peter],  The  Declaration  and  Proclamation  of  the 
Army  of  God  owned  by  the  Lord  of  Hosts  in  many  vic- 
tories. Whereunto  is  annexed  17  necessary  proposals  for 
settling  of  good  judges  in  every  city,  taking  off  the  excise, 
and  payment  of  the  souldiers.  Second  ed.  Pr.  by  J. 
Clowes  for  the  author,  [June  9]  1659  (E.  985.  26). 

Legislative  Power  in  Problemes.     Published  for  the 

Information  of  all  those  who  have  constantly  adhered  to 
the  Good  Cause:  and  for  the  Reformation  of  all  those  who 
had  embraced  the  Bad  Cause,  London.  Pr.  by  John  Clowes, 
[Dec.  3]  1659  (E.  1079-  O- 

A  Scourge  for  a  Denn  of  Thieves,  London.    Pr.  by 


J.  C.  for  the  Author,  [June  16]  1659  (E.  986.  23). 
Chillenden,    Edmund,    Preaching   without    Ordination;    or,    a 

Treatise  proving  the  lawfulnesse  of  all  Persons  to  preach 

and  set  forth  the  Gospel,  1647  (E.  405.  10). 
A  Coffin  for  the  Good  Old  Cause;  or,  A  Sober  Word  by  way 

of  Caution  to  the  Parliament  and  Army,   [Feb.  2]   1659 

[1660]   (E.  1015.  3). 
Coker,   Matthew,  A  Prophetical  Revelation  given  from  God 

himself,  London,  Cottrel,  1654  (E.  734.  7). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  221 

Collier,  Thomas,  Ccrtaine  Queries:  or  Points  now  in  Contro- 
vercy  examined  and  answered  by  Scripture,  1645  (E. 
1183.  5). 

A  Discourse  of  the  true  Gospel  Blessedness  in  the 

Nezv  Covenant.    Pr.  by  H.  Hills,  1659  (E.  1801.  2). 

The  Copie  of  a  Paper  Presented  to  the  Parliament:  and  read 
the  2/th  of  the  fourth  Moneth,  1659,  London,  Calvert,  1659. 

A  Copy  of  a  Letter  from  an  Officer  of  the  Army  in  Ireland,  to 
his  Highness  the  Lord  Protector,  concerning  his  changing 
of  the  Government,  [1656]  (E.  881.  3).  The  letter  is  signed 
R.  G. 

Cornewell,  Francis,  The  Vindication  of  the  Royall  Commission 
of  King  Jesus  against  Pope  Innocensius  the  third,  that 
enacted  by  a  decree  that  the  Baptisme  of  Infants  should 
succeed  Circumcision,  1644  (E.  10.  15). 

Covell,  William,  A  Proclamation  to  all,  of  all  sorts,  high  and 
loxv,  rich  and  poore,  wherein  is  proclaimed  the  Law-Royal 
(i.  e.  the  Rights  of  the  People),  which  in  keeping  thereof 
is  true  Liberty.  Given  forth  by  force  and  power  for  every 
one  to  observe  upon  pain  of  death,  [1654]  (669.  f.  19.  30) 

Croope,  J.,  Conscience-Oppression:  or,  A  Complaint  of  wrong 
done  to  the  People's  Rights,  being  a  Word  necessary  and 
seasonable  to  all  Christians  in  England,  [Feb.  24]  1656 
[1675]    (E.  903.  8). 

A  Cry  for  a  right  Improvement  of  all  our  Mercies.  With  some 
Cautions  touching  the  election  of  the  (expected)  New 
Representative,  T.  Brewster  and  G.  Moule,  1651  (E. 
643.  23). 

The  Cry  of  a  Stone,  or  a  Relation  of  Something  spoken  in 
Whitehall,  by  Anna  Trapnel,  being  in  the  Visions  of  God, 
7  to  19  Jan.  1653  [4]  (E.  730.3). 

A  Declaration  of  a  small  Society  of  Baptized  Believers,  under- 
going the  name  of  Free-Willers,  about  the  City  of  London. 
Pr.  for  Henry  Adis,  1660  (669.  f.  22.  66) . 

A  Declaration  of  divers  Elders  and  Brethren  of  Congregationall 
Societies  in  and  about  the  city  of  London,  decrying  and  dis- 
claiming tivo  bookes:  the  one  called  "A  Cry":  the  other 
called  "  A  Model  of  a  new  Representative."   Wherein  their 


222  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

judgements  touching  the  qualiUcations  of  electors,  and 
eligible  persons,  are  tendered  to  consideration,  Chapman, 
1661  (E.  644.  7). 

A  Declaration  of  Several  Baptized  Believers,  walking  in  all 
the  Foundation  Principles  of  the  Doctrine  of  Christ,  men- 
tioned in  Heb.  6,  I,  2,  London,    Pr.  by  G.  D.,  Jan.  12,  1659. 

A  Declaration  of  several  of  the  Churches  of  Christ,  and  Godly 
People  in  and  about  the  citie  of  London,  concerning  the 
Kingly  Interest  of  Christ,  and  the  present  sufferings  of 
his  cause  and  Saints  in  England,  London,  Chapman,  [Sept. 
2]  1654  (E.  809.  15). 

A  Declaration  of  several  of  the  People  called  Anabaptists,  In 
and  about  the  City  of  London,  London,  Henry  Hills,  1659 
(Guildhall  Library). 

A  Declaration  of  the  Officers  of  the  Army  in  Scotland  to  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  the  three  Nations,  Edinburgh,  Oct. 
20,   1659   (E.   1005.  7). 

A  Declaration  of  the  Well-affected  to  the  Good  Old  Cause,  for 
the  return  and  session  of  the  Long  Parliament  interrupted 
by  the  late  Protector.  Directed  to  the  surviving  Members 
of  that  Parliament,  May  2,  1659  (669.  f.  21.  27). 

Decrees  and  Orders  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Oceana,  London,  [Nov.  12]  1659  (E.  loio.  3). 

Dell,  William,  The  Stumbling  Stone,  wherein  the  University 
is  reproved  by  the  Word  of  God,  London,  Giles  Calvert, 
[April  20]    1653    (E.  692.   i). 

Denne,  Henry,  The  Quaker  no  Papist,  London,  Francis  Smith, 
[Oct.  16]  1659  (E.  1000.  13).  Defends  Catholics  as  well 
as  Quakers. 

The  Dozvnfall  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy.  Or,  The  personal  Reign 
of  Christ  on  Earth,  confuted,  London,  [April  20]  1657  (E. 
1637.  3). 

Edwards,  Thomas,  Gangraena,  London,  1646. 

England's  Settlement,  upon  the  Ttvo  solid  foundations  of  the 
Peoples  Civil  and  Religious  Liberties,  London,  [Sept.  12] 
1659  (E.  995.  17).    A  plea  for  toleration. 

Erbery,  William,  The  Bishop  of  London,  the  Welsh  Curate, 
and  Common  Prayers,  zvith  Apocrypha  In  the  End,  London, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  223 

[Jan.  8]    1652  [3]    (E.  684.  26).     William   Erbery  was  a 
Welsh  fanatic,  at  one  time  a  Baptist,  a  sometime  Agitator, 
an  apostle  of  toleration  and  of  church  unity,  whose  method 
was  that  of  ridicule  of  sectarian  differences. 
A  Call  to  the  Churches;  or,  a  Packet  of  Letters  to  the 


Pastors  of  Wales  presented  to  the  Baptized  Teachers  there, 
[Feb.  19]  1653  (E.  688.  7). 

The  Madman's  Plea,  or  a  Sober  Defence  of  Captain 


Chillingtons  Church,  shelving  the  Destruction  and  Derision 
ready  to  fall  on  all  the  baptized  Churches,  not  Baptized 
with  Fire,  London,  [Oct.  28]  1653  (E.  715.  17). 
The  Man  of  Peace:  or.  The    Glorious  appearance  of 


the  great  God  in  his  People,  rising  as  a  Man  of  War,  to 
zvaste  the  Assyrian:  that  is,  the  Mighty  Oppressor,  J.  Cot- 
trel,  [Feb.  14]   1654  (E.  729.  11). 

An  Olive-leaf;  or.  Some  Peaceable  Considerations  To 

the  Christians  meeting  at  Christ' s-Church  in  London,  Lon- 
don, J.  Cottrel,  Jan.  9,  1654  (E.  726.  5). 

■> The  Sword  Doubled  To  cut  off  both  the  Righteous 


and  the  Wicked,  London,  Giles  Calvert,  1652/3  (E.  671.  13). 

An  Essay  toward  Settlement  upon  a  sure  foundation,  being  a 
testimony  for  God  in  this  perillous  time  by  a  few  who  have 
been  bezi.'ailing  their  own  abominations,  London,  Giles 
Calvert,  [Sept.  19]  1659  (669.  f.  21.  73).  Fifth  Monarchy 
manifesto. 

Evans,  Arise,  The  Bloudy  Vision  of  John  Farley,  interpreted 
by  Arise  Evans.  With  another  vision  signifying  peace  and 
happiness.  Also  a  refutation  of  a  pamphlet  published  by 
one  Aspinwall,  called,  A  brief  Description  of  the  fifth  Mon- 
archy, [Dec.  10]   1653  (E.  1498.  i). 

The  Declaration  of  Arise  Evans  .  .  .  With  his  Pro- 

phetick  Proposals,  touching  Mr.  Peak,  and  Mr.  Simpson, 
and  the  rest  of  the  discontented  and  Independent  Party, 
foretelling,  the  great  Change  that  zvill  happen  in  this  present 
Year,  1654,  and  the  wonderful  Things  that  will  befal  the 
Anabaptists,  London,  G.  Calvert,  [Feb.  9]  1654  (E.  224.  i). 
These  two  pamphlets  were  written  by  an  ex-Baptist,  a 
Welshman,  who  imagined  himself  inspired,  at  this  time,  to 
defend  Cromwell.    Later  he  went  over  to  Charles  Stuart. 


224  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Mr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Pennington's  Prophesie  concerning  seven 
yeers  of  Plenty  and  seven  yeers  of  famine  and  pestilence. 
Together  zvith  the  coming  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy,  [Jan.  12] 
i6ss  (E.  823.  6). 

The  Faithfull  Narrative  of  the  late  Testimony  and  Demand 
made  to  Oliver  Cromwel,  and  his  Powers,  on  the  Behalf 
of  the  Lords  Prisoners,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  lehovah, 
[March  21]  1655  (E.  830.  20). 

A  Faithfull  Searching  Home  Word,  intended  for  the  view  of  the 
remaining  Members  of  the  former  Old  Parliament,  in  the 
time  of  their  late  Second  Sitting  at  Westminster.  Shew- 
ing the  Reasonableness  and  Justness  of  their  first  Disso- 
lution. Printed  in  the  first  year  of  the  Army's  endeavour- 
ing to  deal  treacherously  with  the  Faithfull  Friends  of 
the  Cause  a  second  time,  after  their  first  and  Second 
Dissolution  of  the  late  long  Parliament,  [Dec.  13]  1659  (E. 
774.  I). 

Feake,  Christopher,  A  Beam  of  Light,  shining  in  the  midst  of 
much  Darkness  and  Confusion:  Being  (with  the  Benefit 
of  Retrospection)  an  essay  toward  the  stating  (and  fixing 
upon  its  true  and  proper  Basis)  the  Best  Cause  under 
Heaven:  vis.  the  Cause  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  his  People, 
of  the  whole  Creation,  that  groans  and  waits  for  the  Mani- 
festation of  the  Son  of  God,  London,  Chapman,  [May  2] 
1659  (E.  980.  5). 

Hymne  at  Christ  Church,  Aug.  11,  1653  (E.  710.  13). 

The    New   Non-Conformist,    who    having    obtained 

help  of  God,  doth  persist  unto  this  very  day,  London,  Chap- 
man, [May  24]  1654  (E.  737-  O- 

The  Oppressed  Close  Prisoner  in  Windsor-Castle,  his 


Defiance  to  the  Father  of  Lyes,  In  the  strength  of  the  God 
of  Truth  .  .  .  As  also,  a  Seasonable  Word,  concerning  the 
Higher  Pozvers:  concerning  the  payment  of  Taxes  and 
Tribute-money  by  the  Saints  to  those  Powers,  and  hozv  far 
a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  may  inter-meddle  in  State- Affairs, 
London,  Chapman,  [Dec.  19]  1655  (E.  820.  10). 
Featley,  Daniel,  The  Dippers  Dipt,  or,  the  Anabaptists  duck'd 
and  plung'd  over  Head  and  Bares  at  a  Disputation  at  South- 
wark,  1645  (E.  268.  11).  The  seventh  edition  came  out  in 
January. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  225 

[Fell,  John],  The  Interest  of  England  stated:  or,  A  faithful 
and  just  Account  of  the  Aims  of  all  Parties  now  pretend- 
ing,  [July  22]   1659  (E.  7(>3-  a)- 

The  Fifth  Monarchy,  or  Kingdom  of  Christ,  in  opposition  to 
the  Beast's,  Asserted,  London,  Chapman,  1659  (E.  993.  31). 

Fox,  George,  Journal,  London,  1694. 

Gilbert,  Claudius,  The  Libertine  School'd,  or,  A  Vindication 
of  the  Magistrate's  Pozver  in  Religious  matters.  In  an- 
swer to  some  Fallacious  Quaeries  scattered  about  the  City 
of  Limrick  by  a  Nameless  Author,  about  the  15  Dec.  1656 
(E.  923.  4). 

Goodwin,  Thomas,  A  Sermon  on  the  Fifth  Monarchy,  London, 
Chapman,  [Sept.  22]  1654  (E.  812.  9). 

The  World  to  Come,  or.  The  Kingdome  of  Christ 

Asserted.  Pr.  and  to  be  sold  in  Pope's  Head  Alley  and  in 
Westminster  hall.  London,  [May  15]  1655  (E.  838.  13). 
These  two  pamphlets  are  reprints  by  a  Fifth  Monarchy  man 
of  three  sermons  preached  a  number  of  years  earlier. 

[Griffith],  Alexander,  Strena  Vavasoriensis.  A  New-Years- 
Gift  for  the  Welch  Itinerants:  or,  A  Hue  and  Cry  after  Mr. 
Vavasor  Powell,  [Jan.  30]  1654  (E.  727.  14). 

A  Ground  Voice,  or  some  Discoveries  offered  to  the  view,  with 
certain  Queries  propounded  to  the  Consideration  of  the 
whole  Army  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  Officers 
and  Common-Souldiers,  Horse  and  Foot.  With  Certain 
Queries  to  the  Anabaptists  in  particular  that  Bear  any 
Office,  either  in  Court  or  Army,  under  the  present  self- 
created  Politick  Power,  [Nov.  16]  1655  (E.  860.  i). 

Heath,  John,  A  Brief  Chronicle  of  the  late  Intestine  War,  Lon- 
don, 1663. 

Flagellum,  London,  1663. 

Hammon,  George,  Truth  and  Innocency  Prevailing  against 
Error  and  Insolency  .  .  .  by  zvay  of  answer  to  Mr.  Hese- 
kiah  Holland.  Whereunto  is  added  a  Second  Part:  wherein 
is  proved,  That  all  the  Lazvs  and  Statutes  of  King  Jesus 
(in  his  last  Will  and  Testament)  are  practicable,  London, 
[May  2]  1660  (E.  1022.  4).  Hammon  was  the  pastor  of  the 
General  Baptist  church  at  Biddenden,  in  Kent,  and  held 
16 


226  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

pronounced  Fifth  Monarchy  views.    The  first  part  of  this 
pamphlet  is  doctrinal. 

The  hearty  Congratulation  and  Humble  Petition  of  thousands 
of  well-affected  Gentlemen,  Freeholders,  and  Inhabitants 
of  the  County  of  Kent,  and  City  of  Canterbury,  London, 
Chapman.  June,  1659  (669.  f.  21.  45).  Congratulates  Par- 
liament, asks  for  liberty  of  conscience  and  abolition  of 
tithes. 

Homes,  Nathaniel,  The  Resurrection  Revealed.  Imprimatur, 
Joseph  Caryll  and  Peter  Sterry,  Oct.  1653.  Reprinted, 
London,  1833.  Use  of  Fifth  Monarchy  ideas,  by  one  not 
in  sympathy  with  Fifth  Monarchy  party. 

Hubberthorne,  Richard,  An  Answer  to  a  Declaration  put  forth 
by  the  general  Consent  of  the  People  called  Anabaptists. 
In  and  about  the  City  of  London.  Which  Declaration  doth 
rather  seem  a  begging  of  Pardon  of  the  Cavaliers,  then  a 
Vindication  of  that  Truth  and  Cause  once  contended  for, 
London,  Simmons,  1659.    Quaker  attack. 

The  Humble  Advice,  and  tender  Declaration  or  Remonstrance 
of  several  thousands  of  men  fearing  God,  in  the  County 
of  Durham,  Northumberland,  and  the  adjacent  parts  of 
Westmoreland  and  Cumberland,  tvith  the  North  part  of 
Yorkshire;  To  the  Lord  General  Monk,  and  those  with 
him,  London,  Henry  Hills  [Nov.  2,  1659]  (669.  f.  21.  87), 

The  Humble  Petition  and  Recantation  of  many  Dissatisfied 
Persons,  commonly  known  by  the  Name  of  Anabaptists, 
London,  James  Johnson,  1660  (B.  M.).  A  libel,  ridiculing 
Baptists. 

The  Humble  Petition  of  Many  Thousand  Citizens  and  inhabi- 
tants in  and  about  the  City  of  London,  London,  Chapman, 
Feb.  15,  1658 [9]   (E.  968.  6). 

The  Humble  Petition  of  several  Colonels  of  the  Army,  [Oct. 
18]  1654  (669.  f.  19.  21). 

The  Humble  Representation  and  Address  to  His  Highness  of 
several  Churches  and  Christians  in  South-Wales  and  Mon- 
mouthshire. Presented  Thursday,  lanuary  31,  London, 
Henry  Hills  and  John  Field  [1656]   (E.  866.  3). 

The  Humble  Representation  of  some  Officers  of  the  Army,  To 
the  Right  Honourable  Lieutenant  General  Fleetwood,  Nov. 
I,  1659  (E.  1005.  8). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  227 

Hutchinson,  Lucy,  Memoirs  of  the  life  of  Colonel  Hutchinson, 
edited  by  C.  H.  Firth,  London,  1906. 

Hyde,  Edward,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  History  of  the  Rebellion  and 
Civil  Wars,  edited  by  Macray,  Oxford,  1888. 

The  Illegal  and  Immodest  Petition  of  Praise-God  Barebone, 
Anabaptist  and  Leather-seller  of  London,  London,  H. 
Mason,  [Feb.  25]  1660  (669.  f.  23.  62). 

Ives,  Jeremy,  Eighteen  Questions  Propounded,  to  Put  the  great 
Question  between  the  Army  and  their  dissenting  Brethren, 
out  of  Question.  (Vis.)  Whether  the  best  way  to  secure 
the  Government  of  these  Nations,  in  the  way  of  a  Free- 
State,  without  a  Single  Person,  King,  or  House  of  Lords; 
Together  with  our  Liberties,  as  Men  and  Christians:  Be 
either  to  Chuse  a  Nezv  and  Free  Parliament,  or  else  to 
Restore  the  last  Long  Parliament,  London,  Francis  Smith, 
[Nov.  21]  1659  (E.  loio.  12). 

J[essey],  H[enry],  The  Lords  Loud  Call  to  England:  being  a 
true  relation,  of  some  ludgments  of  God  by  Earthquake, 
Lightening,  etc..  Printed  for  L.  Chapman  and  Francis 
Smith,  [Aug.  14]  1660  (E.  1038.  8). 

Johnson,  Edward,  An  Examination  of  the  Essay:  or,  an  Answer 
to  the  Fifth  Monarchy,  London,  W.  Thomas,  1659. 

Josselin,  Ralph,  Diary,  1616-1683,  Royal  Historical  Society, 
Publications,  Camden,  3d  series,  XIV. 

Kiffin,  William,  et.  al,  A  Letter  sent  to  the  Right  Honourable 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  by  Lieut.  Col.  Kiffen,  Capt. 
Gosfright,  Capt.  Hewling  and  Lieut.  Lomes,  touching  the 
seij:ing  of  their  persons.  Also  shewing  the  forgery  and 
falsehood  of  a  pamphlet  intituled,  A  Manifesto  and  Dec- 
laration of  the  Anabaptists.  Pr.  by  H.  Hills,  1660  (669.  f. 
23.  72). 

KAEIS  I1P0<I>HTEIAX,  or  The  Key  of  Prophecie,  whereby  the 
Mysteries  of  all  the  Prophecies  from  the  Birth  of  Christ  un- 
til this  present  are  unlocked,  and  the  speedy  Resurrection 
of  King  Charles  the  II  out  of  banishment  is  foreshewn, 
[Jan.  28]  1660  (E.  774-  2). 

Lane,  Edward,  An  Image  of  our  Reforming  Tunes:  or,  JeJiu 
in  his  proper  Colours,  London,  Chapman,  [Aug.  14]  1654 
(E.  808.  11).  A  Fifth  Monarchy  production,  comparing 
Cromwell  to  Jehu. 


228  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

L'Estrange,  Roger,  The  Dissenters'  Sayings,  The  Second  Part, 
London,  1681  (Boston  Public  Library). 

A  Letter  from  Shrewsbury,  setting  forth  the  Design  which  the 
Anabaptists  and  Quakers  had  to  secure  the  Castle,  and  to 
have  received  Ave  hundred  more  unto  them  in  opposition  to 
the  Parliament,  London,  T.  H.,  [March  i]  1659  [60]  (669. 
f.  23.  71). 

A  Letter  of  Addresse  to  the  Protector  Occasioned  by  Mr.  Need- 
ham's  reply  to  Mr.  Goodzuins  book  against  the  Triers. 
By  a  Person  of  quality  [1657]  (E.  923.  7).  A  vindication 
of  Independents  and  Baptists.     The  letter  is  signed  D.  F. 

The  Life  and  Approaching  Death  of  William  Kifhn,  Extracted 
out  of  the  Visitation  Book  by  a  Church  Member,  London, 
[March  13]  1659  [60]   (E.  1017.  4).    A  libel. 

Llanvaedonon,  William,  A  Brief  Exposition  upon  the  second 
Psalnte,  London,  Chapman,  [June  23]  1655  (E.  844.  9). 

A  Looking  Glass  for.  Or  An  Awakening  Word  to.  The  Superior 
and  Inferior  OtHcers,  zvith  all  others,  belonging  to  the 
Armies  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland:  more  especially 
to  those,  who  have  the  least  Spark  of  grace  or  Principle  of 
true  honesty  remaining  in  them,  wherein  is  set  before  them 
some  passages  in  severall  of  their  Declarations,  speciously 
pretending  for  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  the  People 
[Oct.  22,  1656]  (E.  891.  i). 

Ludlow,  Edmund,  Memoirs,  edited  by  Firth,  2  vols.,  Oxford, 
1892. 

A  Model  of  a  new  Representative.  Wherein  is  shewn  what  are 
the  men  that  are  conceived  meet  to  be  the  choosers  of,  and 
chosen  unto  the  places  of  Parliament-men  in  the  next 
representative.  Pr.  for  G.  Calvert,  [Oct.  15]  1651  (E. 
643-  13). 

Moderation:  or  Arguments  and  Motives  tending  thereunto. 
Humbly  tendred  to  the  Honourable  Members  of  Parlia- 
ment. Together  with  a  brief  Touch  of  the  reputed  German 
Anabaptists,  and  Munster  tragedy.  By  S.  T.,  London, 
Henry  Hills,  [Feb.  3]  1660  (E.  1015.  8). 

Moor,  Thomas,  jr..  Mercies  for  Men:  prepared  in,  and  by, 
Christ,  even  for  such  as  neither  know  them  nor  him.  A 
discourse  delivered  at  the  Munday  meetings  at  Black  Friers. 
Printed  by  R.  L,  1654  (E.  744.  i). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  229 

More,  John,  A  Trumpet  sounded;  or,  the  Great  Mystery  of  the 
Ten  little  Horns  unfolded.  Being  as  a  candle  set  up  in  the 
dark  Lanthorn  of  Daniel.  Consisting  of  two  parts.  The 
First  of  which  was  sent  to  the  Lord  Protector  so-called, 
July  29,  1654. 

Nedham,  Marchamont,  Interest  zvill  not  Lie:  or,  A  vieiv  of 
England's  True  interest.  In  refutation  of  a  pamphlet  rw- 
tituled  The  Interest  of  England  Stated,  [Aug.  17]  1659  (E, 
763.  5). 

No  Return  to  Monarchy:  and  Liberty  of  Conscience  secured, 
ivitliout  a  Senate,  or  any  imposing  power  over  the  people's 
representatives.  Humbly  tendered  to  the  consideration  of 
the  Parliament,  upon  occasion  of  the  Arm^s  thirteenth 
proposal.  By  a  True  Lover  of  the  Common-Wealth,  and  a 
Real  Friend  to  the  Honest  Interest,  [June  6]  1659  (E.  985. 
16). 

The  Northern  Queries  from  the  Lord  Gen.  Monck  his  Quarters, 
sounding  an  Allanim  to  all  Loyall  Hearts  and  Free-born 
EnglisJi-men  .  .  .  Printed  in  the  Year  of  England's  Con- 
fusions, and  are  to  be  sold  at  the  Sign  of  Wallingford 
House,  right  against  a  Free  Parliament  [Nov.  7,  1659]  (E. 
1005.  15). 

Osborne,  John,  An  Indictment  against  Tythes,  or  tythes  no 
zuages  for  gospel  ministers,  London,  Chapman,  [July  18] 
1659  (E.  989.  28). 

Pagitt,  Ephraim,  Heresiography,  3d  ed.,  London,  1647. 

Peace  Protected  and  Discontent  Disarmed,  London,  [April  11] 
1654  (E.  732.  27).  John  Goodwin's  seventeen  queries  re- 
printed, with  others  added.  Upbraids  Fifth  Monarchy  men, 
especially  those  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  1651. 

Pendarves,  John,  The  Fear  of  God  .  .  .  A  Sermon  preached  unto 
the  Church  of  Christ  meeting  in  Petty  France,  10  day,  6  mo. 
1656,  London,  Chapman,  [April  3]  1657  (E.  907.  3). 

A  Perfect  Diurnall,  or  the  Daily  Proceedings  in  the  Conven- 
ticle of  the  Phanatiques,  March  19,  1660  (E.  1017.  21). 

The  Petition  of  Divers  Gathered  Churches,  And  other  wel 
aifected,  in  and  about  the  City  of  London,  For  declaring 
the  Ordinance  of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  for  publishing 


230  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Blasphemies  and  Heresies,  Null  and  Void.  Also,  a  season- 
able Premonition  to  the  Churches  of  God  in  the  Countrey, 
that  acknowledge  the  Holy  Scriptures  the  only  Word  of 
Faith,  and  believe  that  God  so  loved  the  World  .  .  .  More 
especially  to  the  thirty  congregations,  whose  Faith  and 
practice  is  extant.  Printed  for  William  Larner,  1651. 
Reprinted,  1655  (E.  856.  3). 

Petty,  Sir  William,  Reflections  upon  some  persons  and  things 
in  Ireland,  by  letters  to  and  from  Dr.  Petty.  With  Sir 
Hierome  Sankey's  Speech  in  Parliament.  Pr.  for  J.  Martin, 
Ja.  Allestreye  and  T.   Dicas,    [April]    1660   (E.   1915.   i). 

Phanatick  Intelligencer,  [March  24]  1659  [60]   (E.  1017.  42). 

A  Phanatique  League  and  Covenant.  Solemnly  enter'd  into  by 
the  Asscrtors  of  the  Good  Old  Cause.  Printed  for  G.  H. 
the  Rumps  Pamphleteer-General,  [March  14,  1660]  (669. 
_  f.  24.  II). 

Phillips,  Edward,  Continuation  of  Baker's  Chronicle,  London, 
1670. 

The  Picture  of  a  New  Courtier,  drazun  in  a  Conference,  be- 
tween Mr.  Timcserver  and  Mr.  Plain  heart.  In  which  is 
discovered  the  abhominable  Practices  and  horrid  hypo- 
crisies of  the  Usurper,  and  his  time-serving  Parasites. . .  .  In 
zuhich  a  Protector  having  been  in  part  unvailed,  may  see 
himself  discovered  by  I.  S.  a  Lover  of  Englands  dear  bought 
Freedomes,  [April  18,  "  cast  about  the  streets  "]  1656  (E. 
875.  6).    By  John  Streater? 

The  Picture  of  the  Good  Old  Cause  drazun  to  the  Life  in  the 
Effigies  of  Master  Praise-God  Barebone,  London,  [July  14] 
1660  (669.  f.  25.  57). 

Pittiloh,  Robert,  The  Hamtner  of  Persecution:  or  The  Mystery 
of  Iniquity,  in  the  Persecutions  of  many  Good  People  in 
Scotland,  Under  the  Government  of  Oliver  Late  Lord 
Protector,  And  continued  by  others  of  the  same  Spirit. 
Disclosed,  with  the  Remedies  thereof,  London,  Chapman, 
[July  25]  1659  (E.  993- 4). 

Postlethwaite,  Gualter,  A  Voice  from  Heaven:  or,  A  Testimony 
against  the  remainders  of  Antichrist  Yet  in  England:  And 
in  particular,  the  Court  of  Tryers  for  Approbation  of  Min- 
isters, London,  Qiapman,  [April  15]   1655   (E.  1498.  3). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  231 

The  Prophets  Malachy  and  Isaiah  Professing  to  the  Saints  and 
Professors  of  this  Generation  of  the  Great  Things  the  Lord 
will  doe  in  this  their  Day  and  Time  .  .  .  By  a  zvcll-tuisher 
to  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  London,  Chapman, 
[Sept.  22]  1656  (E.  888.  2).  Prefaces  by  Fcake  and  Pen- 
darves. 

The  Protector,  So  called.  In  Part  Unvailcd,  London,  [Oct.  24] 
i6s5  (E.  857.  I). 

Records  of  a  Church  of  Christ  meeting  in  Broadmcad,  Bristol, 
1640-1657,  Hanserd  Knollys  Society,  London,  1847.  Cited 
as  Broadmead  Records. 

Records  of  the  Churches  of  Christ,  Gathered  at  Fenstanton, 
JVarboys  and  Hexham,  1644-1720,  Hanserd  Knollys  Society, 
London,  1854.    Cited  as  Hexham  Records. 

A  Relation  of  severall  Heresies,  discovering  the  Originall  Ring- 
leaders, and  the  time  ivhen  they  began  to  spread.  Published 
according  to  Order,  by  a  well  wisher  of  Truth  and  Peace, 
London.  Pr.  by  J.  M.,  [Jan.  3,  1656]  (E.  863.  2).  Account 
of  Anabaptists  taken  chiefly  from  Bullinger. 

A  Reply  to  Mr.  William  Prinne  his  unsafe  Expedient  for  the 
settlement  of  these  Nations  by  restoring  the  ancient  Nobil- 
ity. Printed  for  Francis  Smith,  [Nov.  26]  1659  (E.  loio. 
8). 

The  Revelation  Unrevealed.  Concerning  the  Thousand-years 
Reigne  of  the  Saints  with  Christ  upon  Earth.  Laying  forth 
the  weak  Grounds,  and  strange  Consequences  of  that 
plausible,  and  too  much  received  Opinion,  London,  John 
Bisse,  Jan.  1650  (E.  1346,  i). 

A  Reviving  Word  from  the  Quick  and  the  Dead,  to  the  Scat- 
ter'd  Dust  of  Sion:  or,  A  Breathing  of  the  Spirit  of  Life, 
in  a  Feiv  Dry  Bones,  that  begin  to  Rise  and  Rattle,  In  and 
about  this  City  of  London;  by  a  Solemn  Declaration,  for 
an  Immediate  Uniting  of  All  Saints  into  One  Body,  upon 
the  Growing  Principles  of  Grace,  and  Kingdome  of  our 
Lord  Jesus,  in  every  Administration  thereof,  London,  Cal- 
vert, [Oct.  11]  1657  (E.  926.  2).  Signed  by  Edward  Ed- 
monds and  others. 

Richardson,  Samuel,  An  Apology  for  the  Present  Government, 
and  Governour,  London,  Calvert,  [Sept.  30]  1654  (E.  812. 
18). 


232  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Plain  Dealing:  or  The  Unvailing  of  the  opposers  of 


the  Present  Government  and  Governors.  In  Answer  of 
several  things  affirmed  by  Mr.  Vavasor  Powell  and  others, 
London.  Printed  by  E.  C,  [Jan.  23]  1656  (E.  865.  3). 
Rogers,  John,  Aianohreia.  A  Christian  Concercitation  zvith  Mr. 
Prin,  Mr.  Baxter,  Mr.  Harrington,  For  the  True  Cause  of 
the  Commonwealth,  London,  Chapman,  [Sept.  20]  1659  (E. 
995-  25). 

To  his  Excellency  the  Lord  Generall  Cromwell,  A 

fezv  Proposals,  relating  to  Civil  Government,  Robert  Ibbit- 
son,  [April  27]  1653  (669.  f.  16.  97). 

To   His  Highnesse  Lord   General   Cromwell,  Lord 


Protector,  &c.  The  humble  Cautionary  Proposals  of  John 
Rogers,  Minister  of  the  Gospel  according  to  the  Definition 
of  the  Spirit  (now)  at  Thomas  Apostles,  1653  (669.  f. 
17.  71). 

Jegar-Sahadutha:  An  Oyled  Pillar.    Set  up  for  Pos- 
terity, [July  28,  1657]    (E.  919.  9). 
Mene,  Tekel,  Perez  ...  a  Letter  written  to,  and  la- 


menting over,  Oliver  Lord  Cromzuell,  Bern  [1654]. 
Sagrir,  Or  Doomesday  drazving  nigh,  zvith  Thunder 


and  Lightning  to  Lawyers,  London,  Calvert,  [Nov.  7]  1653 
(E.  716.  i).  Copious  extracts  from  these  pamphlets  of 
Rogers  are  given  in  Edward  Rogers'  Life  and  Opinions  of 
a  Fifth  Monarchy  Matt. 

The  Serious  Attestation  of  many  Thousands,  Religious  and 
well  disposed  People,  living  in  London,  Westminster,  Bor- 
ough of  Southwark,  and  parts  adjoining,  iMarch  26,  1657 
(669.  f.  20.  52).    Against  kingship. 

A  Serious  Manifesto  and  Declaration  of  the  Anabaptist,  and 
other  congregational  Churches,  London,  Hardy,  [Feb.  28] 
1660  (669.  f.  23.  65*).    A  libel. 

A  Short  History  of  the  Anabaptists  of  High  and  Lozv  Germany, 
London.  Printed  by  T.  Badger  for  Samuall  Brown,  1642 
(E.  148.  5). 

Sighs  for  Righteousness:  or  the  Reformation  this  day  calls  for 
stated  in  some  sad  and  serious  Queries  proposed  to  our 
Rulers,  London,  [June  2]  1654  (E.  738.  14). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  233 

Some  Considerations  By  way  of  Proposall  and  Conclusion, 
Humbly  Tendered.  For  the  satisfying  and  uniting  of  all 
the  Faithfull  in  this  Day,  whose  hearts  are  groaning  and 
sighing  for  the  deliverance  of  Zion,  and  appearance  of  her 
King.  And  desiring  to  separate  from  this  wicked  and 
Adulterous  Generation,  [March  9]  1657  (E.  746.  3). 

Some  Mementos  For  the  Officers  and  Souldiers  of  the  Army, 
[Oct.  19,  1654]   (E.  813.  20). 

Some  Reasons  Humbly  Proposed  to  the  Officers  of  the  Army, 
For  the  speedy  Re-admission  of  tlie  Long  Parliament,  Who 
setled  the  Government  In  the  way  of  a  Free  State,  London, 
Chapman,   [April  28]   1659  (E.  979.  8). 

Spanheniius,  Frederick,  Englands  Warning  by  Germanies  Woe: 
or  an  Iiistoricall  Narration  of  the  Originall,  Progresse  and 
Sects  of  the  Anabaptists  in  Germany  and  the  Lozv  Countries. 
Pr.  by  J.  Dever  and  R.  Ibbitson  for  John  Bellamie,  [Nov. 
23]  1646  (E.  362.  28). 

The  Speeches  and  Prayers  of  some  of  the  late  King's  Judges, 
1660. 

The  Spirit  of  Persecution  Again  brolcen  loose,  by  an  Attempt 
to  put  in  Execution  against  Mr.  John  Biddle  Master  of 
Arts,  an  abrogated  Ordinance  of  the  Lords  and  Commons 
for  punisliing  Blasphemies  and  Heresies.  Together  with, 
A  full  Narrative  of  The  whole  Proceedings  upon  that  Or- 
dinance against  the  said  Mr.  John  Biddle  and  Mr.  William 
Kiffin,  Pastor  of  a  baptised  Congregation  in  the  City  of 
London,  London,  Richard  Moone,  [July  21]  1655  (E.  848. 
27). 

Spittlehouse,  John,  An  Answer  to  one  part  of  The  Lord  Pro- 
tector's SpeecJi,  or  A  Vindication  of  the  Fifth  Monarchy- 
men,  London,  Chapman,  1654  (E.  813.  19). 

The  Army  Vindicated,  In  their  late  Dissolution  of  the 

Parliament:  With  several  Cautions  and  Directions  in  point 
of  a  New  Representative,  London,  Richard  Moone,  [April 
24]  1653  (E.  693.  i). 

Certaine   Queries  Propounded   to   the  most  serious 


Consideration  of  those  Persons  Now  in  Power,  or  any 
others  wJtom  they  doe,  or  may  concerne,  London,  Chap- 
man, [Sept.  II]  1654  (E.  809.  14). 


234  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

An  Explanation  of  the  Commission  of  Jesus  Christ 


in  relation  to  the  Gifts,  Work,  and  Maintenance  of  his 
Ministers.  Pr.  by  J.  C.  and  sold  by  R.  Moone,  [Sept.  22] 
1653  (E.  713.  15). 

The  first  Addresses  to  the  Lord  General  with  the  As- 
sembly of  Elders  elected  by  him  and  his  Council  for  the 
management  of  this  Commonwealth.  Contaitiing  certain 
rules  how  to  advance  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  over 
the  face  of  the  whole  Earth.  Pr.  by  J.  C.  for  himself  and 
Richard  Moone,  [July  5]  1653  (E.  703.  19). 

A  Warning  Piece  Discharged,  or,  Certain  Intelligence 


communicated  to  the  Lord  General  Cromwel,  in  relation 
to  the  election  of  a  New  Representative,  Richard  Moone, 
[May  19]  1653  (E.  697.  11). 

[Spriggs,  WilHam],  A  Modest  Plea  for  an  Equal  Common- 
wealth, against  Monarchy,  Giles  Calvert,  [Sept.  28]  1659 
(E.  1802.  i). 

A  Standard  Set  Up,  whercunto  the  true  Seed  and  Saints  of  the 
most  High  may  be  gathered  together  .  .  .  ,  [May  17]  1657 
(E.  910.  10). 

Strange  and  Wonderful  News  from  Whitehall,  or  the  mighty 
visions  proceeding  from  Mistress  Anna  Trapnel,  London, 
R.  Sele,  [March  11]  1654  (E.  224.  3). 

Streater,  John,  A  Glympse  of  That  Jewel,  Judicial,  Just,  Pre- 
serving Libertie,  London,  Calvert,  [March  31]  1653  (E. 
690.  11). 

[ ]  Secret  Reasons  of  State  in  reference  to  the  affairs  of 

these  nations  at  the  interruption  of  this  present  Parliament 
anno  1653,  discovered.  With  other  matters  worthy  of  ob- 
servation, in  Jo.  Str eater's  case,  this  being  a  narrative  of 
his  two  years  troubles  at  the  beginning  of  the  late  Mon- 
archie  erected  by  General  Cromwel,  [May  23]  1659  (E.  983. 
24). 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  Liberty  of  Prophecying,  1646. 

That  wicked  and  Blasphemous  Petition  of  Praise-God  Barhone, 
and  his  Sectarian  Crew:  Presented  to  that  so  called,  the 
Parliament  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Feb.  9,  1659, 
for  which  they  had  the  Thanks  of  that  House:  Anatomised. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  235 

Worthily  stilcd  by  his  Excellency  the  Lord  Generall  Monck, 
Bold,  of  dangerous  Consequence,  and  Venenious  .  . .  Printed 
for  Philo-Monarchacus  [April  4,  1660]  (E.  1019.  15). 

linghast,  John,  Generation  Work:  The  Second  Part,  London, 
Chapman,  [March  7]   1654  (E.  1491.  i). 

— —  Knozvledge  of  the   Times:   or  the  resolution  of  the 


question  how  long  it  shall  be  unto  the  End  of  Wonders. 
Pr.  by  R.  I.  for  L.  Chapman,  Dec.  9,  1654  (E.  1467.  i). 

Trapnel,  Hannah,  A  Legacy  for  Saints:  being  several  experi- 
ences of  the  dealings  of  God  with  Anna  Trapnel.  Written 
with  her  own  hand.  Printed  for  T.  Brewster,  [July  24] 
1654  (E.  806.  i). 

A  True  Catalogue,  Or,  An  Account  of  the  several  Places  and 
most  Eminent  Persons  in  the  three  Nations,  and  elsezvhere, 
ivhere,  and  by  zvhom,  Richar  Cromwell  was  proclaimed  Lord 
Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland  .  .  .  all  which  is  chiefly  presented  to  the  view  of 
the  true  Friends  to  the  Cause  and  Interest  of  Christ  in  the 
Three  Nations  and  elsezvhere,  but  more  especially  to  those 
very,  very,  hardly  a  few  among  them  now  sitting  in  Parlia- 
ment. Printed  in  the  First  Year  of  the  English  Armies 
small  &  scarce  beginning  to  return  from  their  almost  six 
years  great  Apostacy  [Sept.  28,  1659]    (E.  999.  12). 

A  true  Copie  of  a  Paper  delivered  to  Lt.  G.  Fleetwood,  In  the 
presence  of  divers  Officers  of  the  Army:  to  be  communi- 
cated to  the  General  Council  of  Officers:  From  a  People 
zvho  through  Grace  have  been  hitherto  kept  from  the  Great 
Apostacie  of  this  day.  Wherein  The  Good  old  Cause 
Is  Stated,  According  to  the  Armies  own  Declarations  and 
former  Ingagements.  And  Ukezvise  here  is  declared,  That 
if  the  Army  (by  the  Lord's  good  hand  assisting  them)  shall 
now  begin  where  they  left  the  work  of  the  Lord,  &  faith- 
fully carry  on  that  Good  Old  Cause,  There  are  a  willing 
People,  and  their  number  not  a  few,  zvho  will  stand  by 
them  with  their  lives  and  Estates,  London,  Chapman,  Apr. 
26,  1659  (E.  979.  4). 

A  True  Copy  of  a  Petition  Signed  by  very  many  Peaceable  and 
Well-affected  People,  Inhabiting  in  and  about  the  City  of 
London,  and  intended  to  have  been  delivered  to  the  late 


236  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Parliament.  Now  presented  to  the  Piiblick  view  and 
consideration  of  all  men:  With  a  brief  Apology  in  the 
behalf  of  the  Petitioners.  By  a  Friend  to  the  Common- 
wealth, and  a  Cordiall  Well  wisher  to  the  righteous  things 
prayed  for  in  the  Petition,  by  E.  H.,  London.  Pr.  for 
the  author,  and  to  be  sold  by  Livewell  Chapman,  [March 
II]  1658  (E.  936.  5). 

A  True  Relation  of  the  State  of  the  Case  Between  the  ever 
Honourable  Parliament  and  the  Officers  of  the  Army.  By 
a  Lover  of  his  Countrey  and  Freedom,  E.  D.  Printed  by 
J.  C,  [Oct.  16]   1659  (E.  1000.  12). 

The  True  Magistrate,  or  the  Magistrate's  Duty  and  Power  in 
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1000.  i). 

A  True  Narrative  of  the  Proceedings  in  Parliament,  Council  of 
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Moone,  [July  14]   1655  (E.  848.  12). 

Twelve  Plain  Proposals  offered  to  the  Honest  and  Faithful 
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26).    Against  monarchy. 

Twelve  Queries,  humbly  presented  to  the  serious  Consideration 
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oppressing  yofzes  of  a  Forced  Maintenance  and  Ministry, 
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Vane,  Sir  Henry,  The  Retired  Mans  Meditations,  or  the  Mys- 
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Vindiciae  Magistratuum,  Or,  a  Sober  Plea  for  Subjection  to 
Present  Government  According  to  the  Command  and 
special  Direction  of  God  himself,  in  his  Holy  Scriptures. 
By  the  meanest  of  the  Lord's  tenderers  of  his  great  Honour, 
and  weal  of  his  Saints,  London,  Hills,  [June]  1658  (E.  2120. 
l).    The  preface  is  signed  C.  D. 


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Occurrences  from  Foreign  Parts.  By  Oliver  Williams  et  al. 
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Gardiner,  S.  R.,  History  of  the  Conimomvealth  and  the  Pro- 
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Glass,  H.  A.,  The  Barbone  Parliament,  London,  1899. 

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INDEX. 


Abingdon,  church  at,  82,  115,  126  n. 

Acts,  book  of,  88. 

Adis,  Henry,  8  n. 

Agitators,  Baptists  among,  11; 
Fifth  Monarchy  men  among,  22. 

Agreement  of  the  People,  11,  14, 
22. 

Allen,  William,  Adjutant-general, 
Baptist,  1 1 ;  Fifth  Monarchy 
man,  22;  center  of  discontent  in 
South,  78;  attitude  toward 
Cromwell,  140  ff.,  155  f.,  160; 
stands  for  Irish  Parliament, 
144;  summoned  to  England,  144; 
activity  in  London,  147;  return 
to  Ireland  a  signal  for  discon- 
tent, 148;  resigns  commission 
under  Henry  Cromwell,  165; 
activity  against  government, 
165,  172;  publishes  Faithful  Me- 
morial, 179;  receives  new  com- 
mission, 185;  signs  Fifth  Mon- 
archy petition,  190  n.;  attempts 
to  arouse  army,  198;  warrant 
issued  for  arrest  of,  199;  men- 
tioned, 133,  150,  153,  202;  let- 
ters, 78  n.,  123  n.,  142,  143  n., 
144  n. 

Allen,  William,  Baptist  minister, 
180,   193;  letters,   180,   193. 

Allhallows  the  Great,  church  of, 
meetings   at,    19,   21,   28,   48,   67, 

97,  98,    114- 

Alured,    Matthew,    70  f.,    no,    185, 

191,  195- 
Amsterdam,  3,  6. 
Anabaptists,   2,   3,   4,    6,   9,   27,    32, 

56,    60,    70,    71,    72,    81,    90,    93. 

98,  lion.,      121  n.,      123,     125, 
136  n.,     138,     140,     149  n.,     152, 


153,  154,  161,  i6s  n.,  171,  173, 
180,  186,  191,  192,  194,  196  n., 
197,  204,  205.    See  also  Baptists. 

Anabaptists,  Continental,  2,  3,  4, 
6,  9,  205. 

Animadversions  upon  a  Letter  and 
Paper,  99  n. 

Annesley,   Arthur,    174,   176. 

Archer,  Henry,   15. 

Army,  Baptists  in,  g,  10,  11,  12, 
72,  90,  91,  93,  120,  123-125,  130, 
136-137,  147,  156,  203,  204; 
Fifth  Monarchists  in,  19,  22, 
172,  185  n.,  204;  Fifth  Monarchy 
policy  toward,  54,  69,  112,  186; 
in  Scotland,  71,  202;  in  Ireland, 
14,  159,  166  n.;  petitions,  123- 
125,  172-173;  attitude  toward 
Cromwell,  123,  130;  attitude 
toward  Richard  Cromwell,  172; 
attitude  toward  Rump,  190,  192- 
193;  reorganized,  196;  men- 
tioned, 19,  20,  30,  39,  42,  44,  45, 
47,  64,  69,  75,  8s,  112,  113,  127, 
128,  129,  172,  174,  177  n.,  179, 
184,   185,   186,    193. 

Aspinwall,  William,  17  n.,  65,  104. 

Axtell,  Daniel,   11,   160,   165,   185. 

Aylesbury,  180. 

Banks,   Mr.,   82. 

Baptists,  forerunners  on  conti- 
nent, 2  f.;  attitude  toward  tol- 
eration, 2,  7,  8,  9,  70,  90  n.,  122, 
137  flf.,  195,  200,  202,  203; 
toward  voluntaryism,  2,  4,  7, 
38  n.,  58,  70,  203;  toward  vio- 
lence, 2,  9,  y3,  100,  195;  toward 
oath-taking,  2,  6  f.,  95,  142  n., 
189;    chiliastic   views   among,   2, 


243 


244 


INDEX 


II  f.;  early  history  and  divisions 
in  England,  3  f. ;  relation  to 
Independents,  4,  6,  7,  12,  19,  28, 
37,  100,  123,  124,  146  f.,  154  f., 
180  n.;  organization  and  usages 
of,  4ff. ;  attacks  on  from  other 
churches,  sf. ;  issue  confessions 
of  faith,  6  f.,  9;  attitude  toward 
magistracy,  6  f.,  66,  121;  toward 
tithes,  7,  36,  38  n.,  43,  58,  60,  65, 
81,  95,  201;  protest  to  James  I, 
7;  petition  to  same,  8;  publish 
declarations,  8-9,  57;  in  army, 
9  f.,  II,  120,  123  ff.,  130,  137, 
140,  147,  156,  172,  196;  eminent 
men  among,  10  f.;  in  civil  life, 
10,  137;  in  legal  profession,  10; 
in  letters,  10;  in  business,  10  f., 
58;  in  navy,  11,  99,  133;  agi- 
tators among,  1 1 ;  relation  to 
Fifth  Monarchists,  12,  19,  21  f., 
26  n.,  27,  28,  36,  43,  56  fF.,  90  ff., 
98,  100  f.,  102,  IIS,  116,  132  f., 
136,  190,  203  f.;  in  Little  Par- 
liament, 32,  33  n;  attitude 
toward  subjects  under  discus- 
sion in  Little  Parliament,  34, 
36  f.;  petition  of  Chillenden's 
church  against  tithes  and  national 
church,  38  n. ;  attitude  toward 
Protectorate,  56  ff.,  65,  72,  74. 
76  ff.,  90,  99,  100,  109,  120,  121, 
130,  136,  140  ff.,  142  f.,  147, 
152,  153.  161,  163,  169,  202, 
204;  toward  term  Protector,  56, 
120;  toward  ceremonial,  56,  74, 
92,  122,  127,  141,  147;  personal 
attitude  toward  Cromwell,  58, 
120,  134  f.;  relation  to  Quakers, 
58  n.,  138;  attitude  toward 
triers,  65 ;  relation  to  Levellers, 
69  ff.,  122  n.;  rumored  implica- 
tion in  petition  of  three  col- 
onels, 70  f.;  in  petition  from 
seamen  of  Penn's  fleet,  71;  im- 
plication in  army  plot  in  Scot- 
land, 71  f. ;  loyal  address  of  cer- 
tain Scotch  churches  to  Pro- 
tector, 74,  202 ;  loyal  address 
from      Northumberland,      York- 


shire, and  Derbyshire,  76  f., 
190;  attitude  toward  Charles  II, 
89,  127;  help  put  down  Royalist 
insurrection  in  Wales,  90; 
Cromwell's  policy  toward,  in 
army,  90  f.,  123,  130;  appeals  to, 
in  Fifth  Monarchy  attacks  on 
Protectorate,  90  ff.;  loyal  ad- 
dress to  government  from  Kent, 
92,  202;  attitude  toward  petition 
from  Sussex,  95;  Samuel  Rich- 
ardson defends  Protectorate,  99; 
loyal  address  from  Wales,  99, 
202;  connections  with  Fifth 
Monarchy  activity  in  Norfolk, 
100  ff.,  203;  with  Venner's  plot, 
108,  115  f.;  attitude  toward 
Cromwell's  kingship,  119  f., 
121  ff.,  127,  168;  present  petition 
to  Cromwell,  1657,  123;  part  in 
army  petition  to  Parliament, 
1657,  123  ff. ;  petition  of  London 
ministers  to  Cromwell,  125;  part 
of,  in  petition  of  1657/8,  128; 
become  more  closely  affiliated 
with  Fifth  Monarchists,  132, 
133;  hold  assembly  at  Dor- 
chester, 133;  Cromwell  takes 
action  against,  as  political  body, 
134;  in  Scotland,  134;  in  Ire- 
land, see  Baptists  in  Ireland; 
attitude  toward  Richard  Crom- 
well's Protectorate,  172;  grate- 
ful address  to  Richard,  175;  in 
Council  of  Officers,  177  n.;  atti- 
tude toward  Rump  Parliament, 
179  ff.,  204;  part  of,  in  change  of 
government,  179  f.;  relation  to 
Presbyterians,  180;  petition  of 
General  Baptists  to  Rump,  180; 
of  Particular  Baptists  of  Kent  to 
same,  181;  participate  in  John 
Canne's  Seasonable  Word,  181; 
in  Moyer's  address  to  Rump, 
182;  given  commissions,  185; 
rumors  of  plots,  186,  192  f.,  194, 
197;  of  plots  against,  186;  part 
in  Committee  of  Safety  and  at- 
titude toward  same,  191  f. ;  atti- 
tude toward  expulsion  of  Rump, 


INDEX 


245 


19s;  Barbone  presents  petition 
to  Parliament,  196;  General 
Baptists   deny    rumors   of    plots, 

197,  198  f.;  participation  in 
rumored  plot,  199;  attitude 
toward  Convention  Parliament, 
200;  part  of,  in  Fifth  Monarchy 
manifesto  of  1654,  203;  part  of, 
in  bringing  about  return  of 
Stuarts,  204;  mentioned,  i,  21, 
26  n.,  30,  34,  43,  48,  56,  62  n., 
82,  87  n.,  89,  IDS.  120,  128,  133, 
i34i  139.  144,  158,  162,  168,  170, 
184  n.,     185,     187  n.,     189,     197, 

198,  200,  205. 

Baptists,  Free  Will,  s  n.,  8  n. 

Baptists,  General,  history  of,  3; 
organization  and  usages  of,  4  f . ; 
confessions  of  faith  of,  6,  7,  9; 
attitude  toward  Protectorate,  57, 
121,  202;  petition  Rump,  180; 
deny  rumors' of  plots,  194,  197; 
mentioned,    11  n. 

Baptists,  Particular,  history  of, 
3  f.;  organization  and  usages  of, 
4fr. ;  confession  of  faith,  6f. ; 
attitude  toward  Protectorate, 
57  f.;  communication  from  Kent 
to  Rump,  181;  deny  rumors  of 
plots,    194. 

Baptists,   Seventh  Day,   5  n. 

Baptists  in  Ireland,  letter  to,  57; 
attitude  toward  Protectorate, 
136,  140  iT.,  147,  152,  153,  161, 
169;  in  offices,  136  f.;  churches, 
137;  toleration  among,  137  ff.; 
attitude  toward  transplantation, 
139;  toward  Parliament  of  First 
Protectorate,  144;  rumors  of 
plot  among,  144;  refuse  to  join 
Independents  in  worship,  146  f.; 
attitude  toward  petition  on 
behalf  of  Henry,  148;  toward 
Henry,  149  f-,  iS4.  iSS  f-.  161, 
162,  163,  16s,  169;  of  Henry 
toward,  147  n.,  149  ff.,  153  f., 
160,  163,  168;  relation  to  Inde- 
pendents and  Presbyterians, 
154  f. ;  in  army,  156;  Cromwell's 
attitude  toward,  157;  withdrawal 


of  certain  leaders,  i6o;  letter 
from  Dublin  to  Welsh  Baptists, 
161;  renewed  activity  on  return 
of  Vernon,  162;  changed  atti- 
tude toward  Henry,  163;  Henry 
accepts  resignations  of  four  Bap- 
tist officers,  165;  address  letter  to 
Cromwell  on  kingship,  166  f.; 
attitude  toward  kingship,  166, 
168;  part  in  army  address,  1658, 
168;  mentioned,  56,   133,   158. 

Barber,   Edward,   5  n. 

Barbone,  Praise-God,  Baptist  mer- 
chant, 11;  member  of  Little  Par- 
liament, 33  n.;  supports  Rump, 
191;  appears  before  Parliament 
with  petition,  196;  pledges  him- 
self to  take  no  action  against 
government,  199;  mentioned,  4, 
32,  55,  56,  174,  180. 

Barkstead,  John,  11;  letters,  108, 
109. 

Barrow,   Robert,    156,   165,    185. 

Bastwick,  John,   175. 

Baxter,   Richard,   59  n.,   180,    190. 

Bennet,   Robert,    11,   33  n.,    192. 

Berners,  Josias,    174,   192  n. 

Berry,  James,  95  ff.,  176;  letters, 
96  n.,  97,  98  n. 

Biddle,  John,   90  n. 

Blackfriars,  21;  Fifth  Monarchy 
meetings  at,  27  n.,  28,  35,  39, 
40,  45.  46,  53,  57.  59,  61. 

Blackwood,    Christopher,    137. 

Blake,  William,  quoted,  13. 

Booth  Sir  George,  187,  188  n., 
191  n. 

Border,  Daniel,  31  n. 

Bramston,   John,   71  ff. 

Brayfield,  Alexander,  11,  167,  185, 

Brewster,  Mr.,   157  n. 

Broghill,  Lord  Roger,  97  f.,  167. 

Browne,  John,   33  n.,   113  n. 

Bunyan,  John,  1 1. 

Burrough,  Edward,   137. 

Burton,   Henry,   175. 

Buttivant,  Thomas,  22,  100,  no. 

Caius  College,  36. 
Cambridge,  4,  36. 


246 


INDEX 


Canne,    John,    22,    102,    126,    132, 

181,  182,  183  n.,  i8s,  186,  187  n., 

198  n.,  202. 
Cardiff,  199. 
Carew,  John,  33  n.,  48,  81  ff.,   115, 

132,   133,   172. 
Carisbrook  Castle,  83,  88,  105,  188. 
Carteret,     Philip,     140,     143,     153, 

160,  167  n.,  168. 
Caryll,   Joseph,   41  n. 
Cats,  Jacob,  20  n. 
Ceremonial,         Baptist        attitude 

toward,    56,    74,    92,     122,    127, 

141,    147;    Fifth   Monarchy   atti- 
tude toward,  44,  48,  50. 
Chamberlen,    Peter,    55,    59,    60  n., 

184  n. 
Chancery,    court    of,    attitude    of 

Little  Parliament  toward,  34,  40. 
Chapman,  Livewell,   199. 
Charles  I,  23,  49,  63,   123,    131. 
Charles  II,    11  n.,   89,    122  n.,    127, 

129,  196,  200. 
Cheshire,  187. 
Chillenden,  Edmund,  ion.,  11,  22, 

30,   38,   39  n-,    no  n.,    171. 
Christ    Church,    Newgate,    21,    46, 

51  n.,   62,    176  n. 
Chronology,  Fifth  Monarchy,  12  f., 

iSff.,    20,    23  f.,    116,    125,    126, 

131- 
Church  and  State,  relations  of,  2, 

4,   7,   38  n.,   41  f.,   47  f.,    58,   61, 

66,    70,   81,    III,    121,    127,    134, 

175,  202  f. 
Civil  Wars,  9,  13. 
Claim   for   Christ   and   His   Laws, 

198. 
Clonmell,  155. 
Cockayne,  George,  22. 
Coke,   John,   35. 
Coleman  Street,   Swan  Alley,   117; 

church   at,    52;    Fifth    Monarchy 

meetings    at,     106  ff.,     no,     115, 

132. 
Coleman     Street,     White's     Alley, 

Fifth     Monarchy     meetings     at, 

107  n. 
Committee    of    Safety,     igi,    192, 

195,  198. 


Commons,  House  of,  strength  of 
Fifth  Monarchy  party  in  Little 
Parliament,  35;  hostility  to 
newly-established  House  of 
Lords,  128;  petition  to,  128  f.; 
rumored  correspondence  of  cer- 
tain members  of,  with  Charles  II 
and  implication  of  others  with 
army  sedition,  129;  fails  to  raise 
necessary  supplies  for  govern- 
ment and  spends  time  debating 
recognition  of  "  Other  House," 
129;  Thurloe  presents  bill  for 
recognition  of  Protectorate  of 
Richard  Cromwell,  173;  petition 
to,  presented  by  Kiffin  and  oth- 
ers, 173  f.;  conservative  relig- 
ious policy  of,  17s;  releases  men 
imprisoned  by  Oliver,  175; 
Praise-God  Barbone  presents  pe- 
tition to,  196;  mentioned,  15,  37, 
176.     See  also  Parliament. 

Commonwealth  Party,  63,  75, 
108  f.,  128,  178,  19s,  199,  202. 

Cooper,  Thomas,  99  n.,  124,  157  ff., 
177  n.,    185,  202, 

Cork,  138. 

Cornwall,  49. 

Cornwall,  Francis,  10. 

Council  of  Officers,  17-18,  29-30, 
31,  32,  130,  176,  177,  178,  195- 

Council  of  State,  21,  39,  45,  52  n., 
76,  8s,  109,  117,  120,  128,  161, 
163,  186  n.,  199;  in  Scotland, 
134;  in  Ireland,  145. 

Courtney,  Hugh,  Baptist  in  army, 
22;  in  Little  Parliament,  33  n.; 
at  Exeter,  78;  delegate  to  Crom- 
well to  demand  release  of  Feake 
and  Rogers,  81;  imprisoned  for 
fomenting  sedition,  82  f.;  re- 
leased, 89;  arrested  for  partici- 
pation in  petition  of  1657/8,  129; 
attacks  on  government  found  in 
room  after  arrest,  130  f.;  bap- 
tized, 132;  signs  Fifth  Monarchy 
petition,  190  n.;  warrant  for  ar- 
rest issued,  199;  mentioned,  44, 
89. 

Coventry,  Baptist  church  in,  3. 


INDEX 


247 


Cradock,  Walter,  10  n.,  82,   104. 

Crofts,  John,  33  n. 

Cromwell,  Henry,  sent  to  investi- 
gate situation  in  Ireland,  140, 
14s,  146;  commander-in-chief  of 
Irish  forces,  145;  member  of 
Irish  Council,  145;  report  on 
conditions,  146;  supporters  pe- 
tition Oliver  on  his  behalf, 
148  f.;  attitude  of  Baptists 
toward,  149  f.,  15s  f.,  i6i,  162, 
163,  165;  attitude  toward  Bap- 
tists, 147  n.,  149  ff-,  I  S3  i;  1 55. 
160,  163,  168;  public  baptism  of 
his  child  criticized,  150  n.; 
writes  Thurloe  on  Hewson's  let- 
ter, 153  f. ;  Cromwell's  attitude 
toward  his  government,  157, 
158;  calls  meeting  of  dissatisfied 
officers,  158  f.;  letter  concerning, 
sent  by  Irish  officers  to  Crom- 
well, 159  f.;  attitude  of  Inde- 
pendents toward,  161;  changed 
attitude  of  Baptists  toward,  163; 
letter  from  H.  Lawrence  to,  163; 
his  toleration,  159,  163,  165; 
attitude  of  sectaries  toward, 
164;  accepts  resignation  of  four 
Baptist  officers,  165;  forbids 
Hewson  and  R.  Lawrence  to 
leave  for  England,  166;  cashiers 
officers,  167;  offers  to  withdraw, 
167;  petition  in  his  favor  with- 
held, 167;  appointed  lord  deputy, 
167;  dismisses  Major  Lowe,  168; 
summons  meeting  of  ministers 
to  discuss  tithes,  169;  mentioned, 
98,    ii8f.,    140,    141,    151,    156, 

157,  158,    160,    161,     162,     163, 

168,  170,  173,  176;  letters,  98, 
118,  132,  140,  146,  148  n.,  150  n., 
153  f-.      155  n.,      1560.,      157  n., 

158,  159,  160  n.,  161  n.,  162  n., 
163  n.,    165,    166  n.,    167,    168  n., 

169,  170  n.,  173. 
Cromwell,  Mary,   150  n. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  problems  of,  in 

dealing  with  religious  views,  i ; 
drives  out  Long  Parliament,  29; 
decides  to  summon  assembly  of 


godly  men,  30;  calls  Little  Par- 
liament, 31;  speech  to  same, 
31  f.;  attack  of  Levellers  on, 
38;  of  Fifth  Monarchy  men  on, 
39;  considers  plans  for  strength- 
ening executives,  40;  interviews 
Fifth  Monarchy  preachers,  41 ; 
Little  Parliament  resigns  power 
into  his  control,  42;  is  pro- 
claimed Protector,  44;  Fifth 
Monarchy  attitude  toward  Pro- 
tectorate of,  44  ff.,  64,  69,  82, 
100,  119,  130  if.,  201  f.;  Baptist 
attitude  toward  Protectorate  of, 
56  ff.,  6s,  73,  74,  76  ff.,  90,  99, 
100,  109,  120,  121,  130,  136, 
140  flf.,  142  f.,  147,  152,  153, 
161,  163,  169,  202,  204;  attitude 
of  Levellers  toward  same,  44, 
69,  75,  109,  201  f. ;  Baptist  per- 
sonal attitude  toward,  58,  120, 
134  f.;  addresses  first  Protector- 
ate Parliament,  60  flf. ;  his  altered 
views,  61;  attitude  toward  vol- 
untaryism, 61,  121,  134,  202;  at- 
tacks Fifth  Monarchy,  62;  makes 
efforts  to  win  over  Fifth  Mon- 
archy leaders,  66  ff.;  his  attitude 
toward  tithes,  67,  120  f.,  132; 
Levellers'  petition  to,  70  f.; 
loyal  address  of  certain  Scotch 
Baptists  to,  74,  202;  dissolves 
Parliament,  75;  attitude  toward 
toleration,  76,  134,  204;  Baptist 
address  to,  from  Northumber- 
land, Yorkshire,  and  Derby- 
shire, 76  f.,  190;  attitude  toward 
imprisonment  of  men  active  in 
Fifth  Monarchy  interests,  78  ff., 
98,  201;  Fifth  Monarchy  men 
demand  Lord's  prisoners  of,  79; 
gives  Rogers  hearing,  80  flf. ;  im- 
prisons and  interviews  Carew, 
Rich,  Harrison,  and  Courtney, 
82  f. ;  Fifth  Monarchy  attacks 
on,  90  flf.,  130  f.,  201;  policy 
toward  Baptists  in  army,  90  f., 
123;  Baptist  address  to,  from 
Kent,  92;  movement  for  petition 
to,   from   Sussex,   94  f . ;   petition 


248 


INDEX 


to,  from  Wales,  95  ff.;  defense 
of,  by  Samuel  Richardson,  99; 
loyal  Baptist  address  from 
Wales,  99,  202;  kingship  project, 
20,  103,  118,  166  f.;  takes  steps 
toward  liberating  prisoners, 
104  fl.;  announces  election  of 
new  Parliament,  109;  interviews 
Venner  and  his  followers,  117; 
offered  kingship,  119,  121,  122; 
Baptist  objections  to  kingship, 
119  f.,  121  ff.,  127;  his  speeches, 
121,  122,  130;  Baptist  petition  to, 
123;  army  petition,  123  ff. ;  hesi- 
tates to  accept  kingship,  124;  re- 
fuses crown,  125,  203;  petition 
of  London  Baptist  ministers  to, 
128;  orders  arrest  of  Courtney 
et  al.,  129;  dissolves  Parliament, 
129;  loyal  address  to,  from 
Council  of  Officers  and  from 
Scotland,  130;  army  attitude 
toward,  130,  161;  takes  action 
against  Baptists  as  a  political 
body,  134;  death,  135,  204;  sends 
Henry  to  Ireland,  140;  attitude 
in  Ireland  toward  Protectorate, 
136,  140  ff.,  147,  166;  his  atti- 
tude toward  titles,  141;  toward 
oaths,  141  n. ;  Vernon's  letter  to, 
141;  Allen's  letter  to,  142  f.; 
petition  to,  from  Ireland  on  be- 
half of  Henry,  148  f. ;  same  on 
behalf  of  Fleetwood,  151,  156; 
letter  to  Hewson,  151,  152,  157; 
Hewson's  answer,  152,  154,  156, 
157;  attitude  toward  Baptists 
in  Ireland,  157;  toward  Henry's 
government,  157,  158;  sends 
Cooper  to  Ireland,  157  ff.;  Irish 
officers  send  letter  to,  concerning 
Henry  and  Fleetwood,  159  f'. 
tries  to  settle  government  of  Ire- 
land on  different  basis,  161  f., 
167;  address  of  Irish  Presbyter- 
ians presented  to,  164;  Gookin 
presents  memorial  on  affairs  in 
Ireland  to,  164;  Irish  officer's  at- 
titude toward  kingship,  166; 
Baptists'   and   Independents'   ad- 


dress to,  on  kingship,  166  f.; 
mentioned,  19,  20,  22,  30,  35,  38, 
39,  40,  41,  42,  44,  45,  47,  49,  so, 
51.  58,  59.  62  n.,  63,  64,  70,  72, 
73.  74.  76.  77,  78,  84,  85,  88, 
89.  93.  94.  95.  96,  97.  100,  104, 
10s,  107,  113  n.,  119  n.,  121,  123, 
128,  130,  132,  134.  136,  137.  140, 
141,  150,  160,  161,  162,  167,  168, 
169,  170,  171,  172,  174,  175,  177, 
179,  200,  201;  letters,  78  n.,  151, 
152,  157.  158,  167. 
Cromwell,  Richard,  accession  of, 
171;  army  attitude  toward, 
172  f.;  army  petition  to,  172; 
rebukes  army,  172;  Parliament 
of,  173  ff.;  bill  introduced  into 
House  for  recognition  of,  173; 
recognized  by  Parliament  as 
Protector,  174;  "  Proclamation 
on  behalf  of  ministers  of  tender 
consciences,"  175;  Baptist  ad- 
dress to,  17s;  orders  Council  of 
Officers  dissolved,  176;  soldiers 
refuse  to  obey  his  orders,  177; 
dissolves  Parliament,  177;  men- 
tioned, I,  170,  175. 

Daniel's  vision  of  the  four  beasts, 

12,  16  f.,  22  f.,  32  n.,  45,  49,  81, 

93,  116,  119,   131. 
Daniel,  book  of,  12,  15,  16,  22,  45, 
Danvers,  Henry,  11,  22,  33  n.,  56, 

100,  1 17,  190  n. 
Day,    Wentworth,    22,    97  f.,    100, 

132,    186  n.,    190  n. 
Deane,     Richard,     ion.,     11,     133, 

192. 
Declarations,  Baptist,  8,  9,  57,  194, 

202;   Fifth  Monarchy,  54-56,  59, 

60,   III,   112-113,  203. 
Dell,  William,    10,   36,   37. 
Denck,   Hans,  3. 
Denne,  Henry,   189  n. 
Derbyshire,  76,  190. 
Desborough,      John,      124  f.,      173, 

176,   199. 
Deuteronomy,  book  of,   107. 
Devonshire,   147,   186. 
Dorchester,   133. 


INDEX 


249 


Dublin,  21,  57,  137,   138,   140,   148, 

154,   161,   163,   165,   166. 
Dutch,  60  n.,   141  ;  part  of,  in  Fifth 

Monarchy   program,    19,    20,    24, 

28,   39,   48.   49. 
Dyke,    Daniel,    58  "• 

Education,   Baptist  views  on,    5  f., 

36  f. 
Eliot,  John,  16,  17. 
England,  church  of,  5,  7. 
England's   Remembrancers,    no. 
Epping,  117. 
Epping  Forest,  112. 
Exeter,  171;  Baptist  church  at,  78. 
Eyre,  William,  71  n.,    160,   195. 
Ezekiel,  book  of,  22. 

Fairfax,  Thomas,  31,   188  n. 

Faithful  Memorial,  179,   180. 

Feake,  Christopher,  Fifth  Mon- 
archy Baptist,  21;  preaches  at 
Blackfriars,  21,  35,  39;  Crom- 
well remonstrates  with,  41;  at- 
tacks Cromwell  in  sermon,  45 ; 
arrested  and  sent  to  prison,  45; 
released,  45;  arrested  for  trea- 
son, 46;  statement  of  personal 
position,  65  f;  given  hearing  be 
fore  Cromwell,  66  f . ;  release  de 
manded  by  Fifth  Monarchy  men 
79;  activity  during  imprison 
ment,  84  ff.;  preaches  in  prison 
85  f.;  released,  89;  speeches 
against  government,  ii4f. 
takes  no  part  in  Venner's  plot 
115;  rumored  participation  in 
plots,  126;  imprisoned,  132;  at 
tacks  government,  171;  his  ac 
count  of  Fifth  Monarchy  party 
177  f.;  mentioned,  50,  51,  52 
55,  59  n.,  64,  82,  95,  187,  192  n. 
letters,   46,    51,    52. 

Fenton,  John,  55,  56,  185,   192. 

Fifth  Monarchy,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15 
16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  23,  24,  25 
26,  29,  31  n.,  44,  43,  46,  49,  so 
52.  53.  5S,  57.  62,  64,  65,  67 
74,  84,    100,   103,   104,   no,    III 


113,  116,  117,  118,  119,  131,  181, 
184  n.,  187,  188,  189,  J98. 
Fifth  Monarchy  party,  relation  to 
Baptists,  12,  19,  21  f.,  26  n.,  27, 
28,  36,  43.  56  ff.,  90  ff..  98, 
100  f.,  102,  115,  116,  132  f.,  136, 
190,  203  f. ;  to  Independents,  12, 
15  f.,  18,  19,  20,  26,  27,  28,  36, 
43,  46  n.,  100;  attitude  toward 
scriptures,  12,  25  f.,  35,  88,  in, 

112,  198,  200;  chiliastic  views  of, 

12  ff.,  19,  21,  23  ff.,  26,  29,  S3, 
ii6n.,  119,  188  f.,  chronology 
of,  12  f.,  IS  ff.,  20,  23  f.,  30, 
116,    125,     126,     131;    spirit    of, 

13  f.;  attitude  toward  violence, 
14,  26  f.,  52  ff.,  S5.  73,  80  f., 
83  £.,  100,  103  f.,  Ill,  119, 
126  f.,  130  f.;  part  of  Jews, 
Turks,  and  Papists  in  establish- 
ing kingdom,  15  f.,  23  f.,  131; 
part  of  Dutch  in  establishing 
kingdom,  19,  20,  24,  28,  39,  48; 
first  proposal  for  establishment 
of  kingdom,  17  f.;  rise  of 
party,  18  f.;  petitions  Cromwell, 
19;  holds  meetings,  19,  21,  28; 
eminent  men  among,  21  f.;  part 
of  navy  in  establishing  kingdom, 
24  n.;  program,  25,  188;  atti- 
tude toward  tithes,  25,  28,  31  n., 
36,    40,    43,    48,    60,   6s,    68,   94, 

113,  131,  189,  201;  toward  law 
reform,  25,  28,  31  n.,  35,  36,  43, 
60,  62,  65,  68,  69,  94;  conception 
of  own  part  in  establishing  king- 
dom, 26  f. ;  attacks  on  Long  Par- 
liament, 28,  40  n.;  attitude 
toward  its  dissolution,  29;  pro- 
posals to  Council  of  Officers, 
1653,  29  f. ;  basic  principle  of  ad- 
vice followed  in  calling  of  Little 
Parliament,  30  f.;  in  Little 
Parliament,  33  n.,  35,  36,  43, 
113  n.,  201;  strength  of  party  in 
House,  34  f. ;  probable  part  in 
action  on  law  reform,  36;  rela- 
tion to  Levellers,  37  ff.,  44,  69, 
91,  174,  190,  199;  attitude  toward 
Parliament,   39  f . ;    preachers   at- 


250 


INDEX 


tack  Parliament  and  Cromwell, 
41 ;  Cromwell  interviews  same, 
41 ;  attitude  toward  Protectorate, 
44  ff.,  64,  69,  82,  100,  119,  130, 
201  f.,  204;  toward  ceremonial, 
44,  48,  50;  leaders  imprisoned 
for  attacks  on  government,  45  f. ; 
offers  propositions  for  new  gov- 
ernment, 47;  officers  forfeit  com- 
missions under  Cromwell,  47  f. ; 
attitude  toward  voluntaryism, 
47,  48,  66,  1 1 1 ;  its  hymnology, 
51;  issues  manifesto,  1654,  54  ff., 
203;  attacked  by  Cromwell  in 
speech  to  first  Protectorate 
Parliament,  62;  rumors  of  peti- 
tion and  sedition  in  Wales,  63  f.; 
publishes  pamphlets,  etc.,  declar- 
ing position  toward  Protector- 
ate, 64  ff. ;  attitude  toward  mag- 
istracy, 66,  102,  104;  efforts  of 
Cromwell  to  win  over  party 
leaders,  66  ff.;  attitude  toward 
triers,  67,  114,  131;  renewed  ac- 
tivity of  churches,  68;  policy 
toward  army,  69;  attitude  toward 
toleration,  69,  113,  189,  203; 
active  men  imprisoned  by 
Cromwell,  78;  rumored  plot, 
1655,  79;  demands  prisoners  of 
Cromwell,  79;  Rogers  given  hear- 
ing before  same,  80  ff;  Harrison 
Rich,  Carew,  and  Courtney  im- 
prisoned and  interviewed  by 
same,  82  f.;  activities  in  prison, 
84  ff. ;  issues  pamphlets,  1655,  89; 
publishes  attacks  on  Protector- 
ate, 90  ff.;  Queries,  90  f.;  Pro- 
tector Unvailed,  91  ff.;  A  Ground 
Voice,  93;  attitude  toward  peti- 
tion from  Sussex,  95 ;  toward 
Welsh  petition,  97;  activities  in 
Norfolk,  99  ff.,  203;  elsewhere, 
loif. ;  meetings  in  Coleman 
Street,  106  ff.,  no;  rumors  of 
plots,  107  f.;  Venner's  plot,  106  ff., 
17s;  attempted  union  with  Com- 
monwealth men,  108  ff.;  part  in 
elections,  no;  publishes  mani- 
festo,   1659,    III  ff.;    conception 


of  kingdom,  113;  last  attempt  to 
overthrow  Protectorate,  117  f.; 
attitude  toward  Cromwell's  king- 
ship, 119;  issues  protest  against 
treatment  by  soldiers,  125  f. ; 
holds  meetings,  126;  issues  pam- 
phlets, 126  f.,  130;  part  in  petition 
of  1657-8,  128  f. ;  attitude  toward 
Cromwell,  130  ff.;  growing  af- 
filiations with  Baptists,  132,  133; 
in  Ireland,  136;  rumors  of  plots 
on  Cromwell's  death,  171,  172; 
attitude  toward  Richard  Crom- 
well's Protectorate,  171  f.;  in 
army,  172,  185  n.,  187  n.;  part 
in  petition  of  1657-8  to  Richard 
Cromwell's  Parliament,  174; 
participates  in  suggestions  offered 
to  Council  of  Officers,  1659,  177; 
characterized,  178,  187  f;  John 
Canne's  Seasonable  Word,  181; 
rumors  of  plots,  186,  188;  sug- 
gestions to  Rump  for  govern- 
ment, 187  f,  204;  petition  to 
Rump,  1659,  189  f.;  suggestion 
to  Committee  of  Safety,  198, 
rumored  part  in  plot,  198  f.;  at- 
titude toward  Convention  Parlia- 
ment, 200;  Venner's  second  plot, 
200;  part  in  bringing  about  re- 
turn of  Stuarts,  204;  mentioned, 
I,  27,  31,  46  n.,  47,  48,  49,  52, 
62  n.,  65,  79,  81,  82,  89,  97,  98, 
loi,  iisn.,  120,  122  n.,  127, 
128,  132,  133,  171,  173,  174, 
184  n.,  200,  205. 
Fleetwood,  Charles,  meetings  of 
with  sectaries,  94;  interviews 
Rich  in  prison,  105;  attitude 
toward  kingship,  125;  attitude 
toward  Baptists  in  Ireland,  136, 
140,  144  f.,  150,  154;  toward 
transplantation,  139,  145;  com- 
manded to  go  to  England,  145; 
petition  asking  that  Henry  sup- 
plant him,  148;  petition  to 
Cromwell  on  behalf  of,  151,  156; 
attitude  toward  situation,  156  f.; 
letter  to  Cromwell  concerning 
Henry    and    Tleetwood,    and   re- 


INDEX 


251 


questing  latter's  return,  159  f.; 
attitude  toward  Henry,  162; 
toward  Richard's  Protectorate, 
173.  176;  petition  to  restore 
Long  Parliament,  191;  his  part 
in  dissolving  Rump,  191;  men- 
tioned, 78,  130,  146,  149,  161, 
166,  167  n.,  186,  192,  193  n.; 
letters,  78  n.,  139  "•.  144"-.  MS. 
148  n.,  149,  ison.,  156  n.,  157, 
162  n.,    163  n.,    170  n. 

Gladman,  Robert,  11,   185. 

Glass      House,      London,      Baptist 

Church  at  the,  73. 
Gloucester,  186. 
Goffe,    William,     14,     15  n.,    94  f., 

99  n.,    176;   letters,    95  n.,    99  n., 

102  n. 
Goodgroome,    Richard,    185,    190  n. 
Goodicke,    P.,    190  n. 
Goodwin,    Thomas,    16,    20  n.,    26, 

46  n.,   66,    160  n. 
Gookin,   Vincent,    139,   163  f.,    165. 
Gospight,   George,    185. 
Griffin,  i.   e.  Griffith,   q.  v. 
Griffith     (written     Griffin),     John,. 

5  n. 
Griffith,  Morris,  63. 
Ground  Voice,  93 

Harrington,   James,    190. 

Harrison,  Edward,  182. 

Harrison,  General  Thomas,  Fifth 
Monarchy  man,  13,  22;  chiliastic 
views  of,  14  f.;  champions  new 
plans  in  Council  of  Officers,  31; 
dissatisfaction  with  Cromwell, 
31,  39;  member  of  Little  Parlia- 
ment, 33  n.;  supports  radicals 
in  Little  Parliament,  39  ff.;  sits 
on  with  party  after  dissolution 
of  Little  Parliament,  42;  forfeits 
commission  under  Cromwell,  48; 
leader  of  strong  party  against 
government,  48;  asked  to  retire 
to  country,  48;  arrested,  admon- 
ished, and  set  at  liberty,  64; 
delegate  to  demand  of  Crom- 
well release  of  Feake  and  Rog- 


ers, 81  f.;  committed  to  prison 
for  opposing  government,  83; 
friendship  with  Rogers,  89;  re- 
fuses release,  105  f.;  refuses  to 
take  part  in  Venner's  plot,  109, 
IIS,  116;  questioned  by  Council 
concerning  plot,  117;  rumored 
participation  in  plot,  126;  bap- 
tized, 132;  mentioned,  28,  34, 
90,  95,   107,  171,  192  n. 

Harrison,  Dr.  Thomas,  136  f., 
137  n.,    147  n.,   157  n.,    i6i,   162. 

Hayncs,  Hezekiah,  97,  101;  letters, 
100  n.,    loi  n.,    102  n.,   iion. 

Ilazelrigge,    Sir  Arthur,    174. 

Healing   Question,    109. 

Hewson,  John,  136,  150,  151  f., 
153.  iS6,  157.  160,  162,  165,  166, 
167;  letters,  149  n.,  151,  152  ff., 
157- 

Hexham,   Baptist  church  at,   77. 

High  Court  of  Justice,  23,  40. 

Ilighgate,   106. 

Highland,  Samuel,  33  n.,  48,  55, 
56,  1 18,  122. 

Hills,  Henry,   11. 

Hispaniola  expedition,  93  f.,  97, 
112,    131. 

Hitt,  James,   190  n. 

Hobbes,  Thomas,  Leviathan,  20. 

Hobson,  Paul,  73,  74,  77,  202. 

Hollister,    Dennis,    33  n. 

How,  Samuel,  37. 

Howard,  Charles,   11. 

Howard,  William,  122  n. 

Hiibmaier,  Balthasar,  3. 

Hull,  72,  102,  123,  183. 

Humble  Petition  and  Advice,  119  n, 
125,  127,   168. 

Hutchinson,  John,   11. 

Hymnology,    Fifth    Monarchy,    51. 

Independents,  relation  to  Baptists, 
4,  6,  7,  12,  19,  28,  37,  100,  123, 
124,  146  f.,  154  f.,  180  n.;  attitude 
toward  tithes,  7,  36,  43,  169; 
toward  toleration,  7;  relations  to 
Fifth  Monarchy  men,  12,  15  f., 
18,  19,  20,  26,  27,  28,  36,  43, 
46  n.,    100;   attitude   toward  vio- 


252 


INDEX 


lence,  14;  chiliastic  views  of, 
i4flf. ;  have  part  in  rise  of  Fifth 
Monarchy  party,  19;  Fifth  Mon- 
archy men  among,  hold  meetings, 
19,  28;  in  Little  Parliament,  34, 
36;  attitude  toward  Marriage 
Act,  34;  toward  law  reform,  36; 
views  on  education,  37;  Crom- 
well's attitude  toward,  in  Parlia- 
ment of  First  Protectorate,  62; 
in  Ireland,  94,  136,  146,  147, 
148,  156,  161,  169;  part  in  Fifth 
Monarchy  activity  in  Norfolk, 
100;  rumors  of  petition  from 
Hull,  123;  part  in  army  petition, 
124;  attitude  toward  Henry 
Cromwell,  146,  156,  161;  attack 
of  ministers  in  Ireland  on  Bap- 
tists, 147;  attitude  toward  peti- 
tion on  behalf  of  Henry,  148; 
toward  Protectorate,  169;  in 
army,  173;  renewed  activity, 
176;  rumored  plot  against,  186; 
mentioned,  62,  94,  136,  153  n., 
157.   170,   173,  190. 

Indians,  John  Eliot,  apostle  to, 
16.   17. 

Instrument  of  Government,  60,  64, 
75,  76  f.,  201,  203. 

Invitation  to  the  Lord's  People, 
182  f. 

Ipswich,   Church   at,    115. 

Ireland,  Baptists  in,  1361?.;  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  in,  136;  Inde- 
pendents in,  136,  146;  question 
of  transplantation  in,  139,  145; 
attitude  toward  Protectorate, 
136,  140  ff.,  147,  151,  152,  153, 
161,  166,  169;  Henry  sent  to, 
140,  14s;  attitude  toward  first 
Protectorate  Parliament,  144; 
rumors  of  Baptist  plots  in,  144; 
Fleetwood's  report  on  conditions 
in,  145;  Henry  Cromwell,  mem- 
ber of  Council  in,  145;  his  report 
on  conditions  in,  146;  Allen  re- 
turns to,  148;  petition  from,  on 
behalf  of  Henry,  148  f.;  attitude 
of  sectaries  toward  Henry, 
149  f.,  IS4,  issf-.  161,  162,  163, 


164,  165;  petition  from,  on  behalf 
of  Fleetwood,  151,  156;  Crom- 
well's and  Hewson's  correspond- 
ence circulated  in,  152;  Fleet- 
wood's attitude  toward  sectaries 
in,  156  f.;  Cooper  sent  to, 
157  ff.;  officers  send  letter  to 
Cromwell  concerning  Fleetwood 
and  Henry,  156  f.;  withdrawal 
from,  of  certain  Baptist  leaders, 
160;  attitude  of  army  toward 
Protectorate,  161;  Cromwell 
tries  to  change  basis  of  govern- 
ment, 161  f.;  renewed  activity 
of  Baptists  on  return  of  Vernon, 
162;  rumors  of  intended  Royalist 
invasion,  162;  address  of  Irish 
Presbyterians  to  Henry  pre- 
sented to  Cromwell,  164;  Henry 
accepts  resignation  of  four  Bap- 
tist officers,  165;  officers'  address 
to  Fleetwood,  166,  167;  attitude 
toward  kingship,  166,  168;  Hew- 
son  and  Lawrence  forbidden  to 
leave,  166;  Baptist  address  to 
Cromwell,  166  f. ;  second  petition 
from,  on  behalf  of  Henry  with- 
held, 167;  Henry  appointed  lord 
deputy,  167;  withdrawal  of 
Vernon,  168;  army  address  on 
kingship,  1658,  168;  mentioned, 
9,  10,  21,  24  n.,  56,  70,  78,  94, 
133- 

Ireton,  Clement,  190  n. 

Ireton,  Henry,   136,   151,  1S6  n. 

Isaiah,  book  of,    126. 

Ives,  Jeremy,   185,   189  n. 

Jacob,   Henry,   4. 

James  I,  Baptist  protest  to,  7;  Bap- 
tist petition   to,   8. 

James,  John,   33  n. 

Jersey,    160. 

Jessey,  Henry,  4,  48,  55,  56,  58  n., 
94,   120,    123,    182,    190  n.,    192. 

Jessop,   William,   112  n. 

Jews,  part  of,  in  Fifth  Monarchy 
program,    15,    16,    23,   24,    131. 

Jones,  John,  136,   140,   153  n.,  165. 


INDEX 


253 


Kent,  92,   181. 

Kiffin,  William,  Baptist,  4,  10;  sup- 
porter of  Cromwell,  iion.,  123; 
defends  government  against 
Feake,  114;  presents  petition  to 
Richard  Cromwell's  Parliament, 
173  f.;  accepts  commission  in 
London  militia,  185;  one  of  com- 
missioners to  send  letter  to 
Monck,  192  f.;  arrested  upon 
rumor  of  participation  in  Bap- 
tist plot,  197;  released,  197; 
mentioned,  58  n.,  81,  90  n., 
no  n.,  133,  191  n.,  202. 

Kilkenny,  138,  155. 

Kingship,  and  Cromwell,  20,  103, 
118,  165,  168;  Fifth  Monarchy 
attitude  toward,  119;  Baptist  at- 
titude toward,  119  f.,  121  ff., 
127,  168,  203. 

Knipperdoling,    Bernhardt,   3,  27. 

KnoUys,  Hanserd,  4,  5  n.,  10,  55, 
56,  58  n.,  60  n.,   123. 

Lambert,  John,  41,  125,  171,  174, 
187,   190,   191,   192,   199. 

Lambeth  Palace,  52,  84,  88. 

Langlon,    Francis,   33  n. 

Law  reform,  attitude  of  Baptists 
toward,  36,  43,  60,  95;  of  Fifth 
Monarchy  men,  25,  28,  31  n., 
35.  36,  43.  60,  62,  6s,  68,  69, 
94;  of  Little  Parliament,  34  flf., 
43;  of  Levellers,  69. 

Lawrence,  Henry,  10,  58,  93,  141. 
163,   192,  202. 

Lawrence,  Richard,  139,  140, 
142  n.,  144,  151,  153,  163,  165, 
166,  185. 

Lawson,  John,  11,  70,  108  f.,  117, 
i8s,   19s. 

Leader,   Edward,    185. 

Leigh,   Colonel,    156. 

Levellers,  relation  to  Baptists,  11, 
69  flf.,  91,  122  n.,  190,  199;  to 
Fifth  Monarchy  men,  37  flf.,  44, 
69,  91,  174,  190,  199;  mob 
church  of  Edmund  Chillenden, 
38  f.;  attitude  toward  Cromwell 
and  Protectorate,  40,  44,  69,  75, 


109,  201  £.;  toward  toleration, 
69,  70;  toward  law  reform,  69; 
toward  voluntaryism,  70;  peti- 
tion of  three  colonels,  70  f.;  of 
seamen  of  Penn's  fleet,  71;  army 
plot  in  Scotland,  71  f.;  part  in 
petition  to  Richard  Cromwell's 
Parliament,  174;  in  Fifth  Mon- 
archy petition  to  Rump,  190; 
part  in  rumored  combined  plot, 
199;  mentioned,  69,  75,  79,  191, 
201. 

Leviathan,  by  Thomas  Ilobbes,  20. 

Lewes,  94. 

Leyden,  John  of,  3,  27,  70,  155, 
194. 

Lilburne,  John,  38,  69. 

Lilburne,   Robert,    11,    177  n. 

Lincoln,   Baptist  church   in,   3. 

Lockhart,  William,   127. 

London,  3,  4,  6,  10,  11  n.,  19,  21, 
30,  41,  46  n.,  49,  57,  58,  67,  68, 
73,  85,  87  n.,  88,  90,  92,  97,  104, 
106,  108,  114,  117,  123,  125,  132, 
:40,  147.  160,  171,  17s,  179, 
185  n.,  191,  192,  194,  196,  197; 
Mayor  of,  plot  against,  107; 
same,   mentioned,    132,    141,    186. 

London  House,  21. 

Lords,   House  of,   128,    129. 

Lowe,   Major,    168. 

Ludlow,  Edmund,  136,  140,  145, 
148. 

Luther,    Martin,    53  n. 

Lyme  Regis,    199. 

Major-generals,    94. 

Malachi,  book  of,  22. 

Manchester    Declaration,    11,    12  n. 

Marriage  Act,  34. 

Martin's   Vintry,    church   of,    132. 

Mason,   Hugh,    185. 

Mason,  John,    124,   185. 

Matthew,   Gospel   according  to,   50. 

Mazarin,  Cardinal,   129. 

Mennonites,   3. 

Middlesex,   no. 

Mile  End  Green,  117. 

Militia,    192-194,    197,    198. 

Milton,  John,   11  n.,  190. 


254 


INDEX 


Monck,   George,   71,   76,    192,    194, 

196,  198. 
Moor,  Thomas,   53. 
More,  John,  59,  60  n. 
Morgan,   Anthony,    162. 
Meyer,    Samuel,    10,    33  n.,    58  n., 

174,  182. 
Miinster,  2,  6,  27,  154,  194. 

Naudin,   Theodore,    59. 

Navy,  Baptists  in,  11,  71;  part  of 
in  Fifth  Monarchy  program,  24, 
44,  99,  108,  133;  petition  from 
seamen   of  Penn's  fleet,   71. 

Nebuchadnezzar's  vision  of  the 
image,    12,   26,  66. 

Needham,   Marchamont,   64,    182. 

Newcastle,    Baptist  church    at,    77. 

New  England,   4,    16,    17  n.,    108  n. 

Newgate  Street,  114. 

Norfolk,  Fifth  Monarchy  party  in, 
17,  18,  19,  68,  83,  87  n.,  99  ff., 
no,  113,  203;  mentioned,  120. 

Northamptonshire,   199. 

North   Walsham,    100,    102  n. 

Norwich,  petition  from,  17,  18; 
Fifth  Monarchy  meeting  at,  100; 
mentioned,    no. 

Numbers,  book  of,   127. 

Oates,   Samuel,  39  n.,  71  f.,  72  n. 
Oath-taking,         Baptist        attitude 

toward,    2,    6  f.,    95,    142  n,    189; 

Cromwell's       attitude       toward, 

141  n. 
Observator,  newspaper,  64. 
Okey,  John,   10,   11,   108  f.,   177  n., 

185,  191,   I9S- 
"  Other  House  ",  see  Lords,  House 

of. 
Overton,  Richard,  11. 
Overton,  Robert,  22,  70,  71  f.,  175, 

184,  190  n.,   191,   195. 

Owen,  Dr.  John,  15,  20,  26,  46  n., 

66,  124,  176,  190. 
Owen,  John,   190. 

Pack,  Christopher,  123. 

Packer,    William,    11,    22,    177  n., 

185,  191  n. 
Painted  Chamber,  60. 


Papacy,   15,  16,  23,  24  n.,  173. 

Paris,   127. 

Parliament,  the  Long,  attitude 
toward  law  reform,  voluntary- 
ism, and  tithes,  20;  army  peti- 
tion to,  28;  Fifth  Monarchy 
attacks  on,  28;  negotiations  with 
Dutch,  28;  rejects  bill  for  Welsh 
commissioners,  28  f. ;  refuses  bill 
for  new  representative,  29; 
driven  out  by  Cromwell,  29; 
Fifth  Monarchy  attitude  toward 
its  dissolution,  29;  return  of 
remnant  desired,  178;  men- 
tioned, 10,  19,  41,  97  n.,  129, 
179.  See  also  Parliament,  the 
Rump. 

Parliament,  the  Little,  called,  31; 
Cromwell's  speech  to,  31  f.;  com- 
position of,  32  f. ;  radical  party 
in,  33,  34  ff-.  37  U  39.  40,  41  f-. 
49,  60,  63,  68,  108,  113  n.,  178, 
187,  201;  Baptists  in,  33  n.; 
Fifth  Monarchy  men  in,  33  n.; 
issues  declaration  of  attitude 
toward  tithes,  34,  40;  abolishes 
Court  of  Chancery,  34;  passes 
Marriage  Act,  34;  declares  atti- 
tude in  law  reform,  34  ff.,  43; 
views  on  education,  36  f.;  atti- 
tude toward  John  Lilburne  and 
Levellers,  38;  toward  Dutch 
peace,  39;  attack  upon  by  Fifth 
Monarchy  preachers,  39;  again 
attacks  chancery,  40;  establishes 
High  Court  of  Justice,  40;  re- 
newed opposition  of  Fifth  Mon- 
archists, 41;  attitude  toward  vol- 
untaryism, 41;  fails  to  abolish 
tithes,  42;  resigns  powers  to 
Cromwell,  42;  reason  for  fail- 
ure of,  42  f.,  200  f.;  mentioned, 
47,  48,  so,  59,  60,  76,  82,  139, 
177  n.,  200,  204,  205. 

Parliament,  the  first  Protectorate, 
character  of,  60;  Cromwell's 
first  speech  to,  60  ff.,  69;  disso- 
lution of,  75,  202;  Irish  attitude 
toward,  144;  mentioned,  54,  64, 
76,  89,  144- 


INDEX 


255 


Parliament,  the  second  Protector- 
ate, election  of,  109  f.;  Fifth 
Monarchy  attitude  toward,  no; 
character  of,  in,  118,  120;  fail- 
ure to  discuss  subject  of  tithes, 
120  f.;  adopts  proposal  for  mon- 
archical forms,  121,  122;  army- 
petition  of  1657  to,  123  if.; 
character  of,  on  reassembling, 
128;  petition  to,  1657-8,  128; 
dissolved  by  Cromwell,  129; 
mentioned,  150,   174. 

Parliament,  Richard  Cromwell's, 
petition  to,  173  f-;  establishes 
Protectorate,  174;  its  religious 
policy,  175;  release  of  prisoners 
confined  by  Oliver,  175;  attitude 
of  sectaries  toward,  176;  breach 
with   army,    176;    dissolved,    177. 

Parliament,  the  Rump,  suggestions 
for  recall  of,  178;  attitude  of 
sectaries  toward,  178  fF.,  204; 
declaration  recalling,  179;  atti- 
tude of  Baptists  toward,  179  ff., 
204;  of  Fifth  Monarchists,  204; 
petition  of  General  Baptists  to, 
180;  of  Particular  Baptists  of 
Kent  to,  181;  John  Canne's 
Seasonable  Word  to,  181; 
Samuel  Moyer  presents  address 
to,  182;  attitude  toward  sectaries, 
182;  appoints  John  Canne  official 
intelligencer,  182;  attitude  toward 
imprisonment,  183;  petition  to, 
for  abolishment  of  tithes,  183; 
attitude  toward  tithes,  183  f.; 
petition  from  Hull  to,  183  f.; 
Quaker  petition  against  tithes, 
184;  changed  attitude  of  sec- 
taries toward,  184;  issues  com- 
missions to  sectaries,  185; 
removes  Canne  from  post  of  in- 
telligencer, 187;  assistance  of 
sectaries  at  time  of  Royalist  plot, 
187;  appointments  to  command 
of  volunteer  regiment,  187;  sug- 
gestions to,  187  ff.;  Fifth  Mon- 
archy petition  to,  189  f.;  other 
suggestions  to,  190;  army  dis- 
contented  with,    190;    is   driven 


out,  190;  part  of  sectaries  in  its 
dissolution,  191  ff. ;  Fleetwood 
petitioned  to  restore,  191;  Bap- 
tist attitude  toward  its  expul- 
sion, 192  ff.;  army  attitude 
toward,  192  f. ;  recall  of,  195; 
reorganizes  army,  196;  petition 
of  Praise-God  Barbone  to,  196; 
admits  secluded  members,  198; 
takes  on  Presbyterian  aspect, 
198;  attitude  of  sectaries  toward, 
198;  religious  policy  of,  204; 
mentioned,  186,  194. 
Parliament,  Convention,  election 
for,  198;  rumors  of  plot  against, 
198  f.;  attitude  of  sectaries 
toward  new  government,  199  f.; 
mentioned,  200. 
Parliament  House,  190. 
Parsons,  Henry,  190  n. 
Patient,    Thomas,    5  n.,    137,    144, 

1S3,  163. 
Pendarvis,  John,  82,   115  n.,  126  n. 
Pendennis  Castle,  83. 
Penn,    Sir   William,   petition   from 

seamen  of  his  fleet,  71. 
Perre,  Paulus  van  de,  20  n. 
Personal    Reign     of     Christ    upon 

Earth,  15. 
Peters,   Hugh,   45  n. 
Petition   and   Advice,    119  n.,    125, 

127,  168. 
Petitions    and    addresses.    Baptist, 
7,   8,  38  n.,  74,   76,   92,   99,   123, 
125,  i6o,  166-167,   17s.   180,  181, 
202;   Fifth  Monarchy,   17-18,  29- 
30,  63-64,   128-129,   181,   189-190, 
198;    miscellaneous,    28,    33,   70, 
71,   94-95,    123-125,   128-129,    130, 
148-149,   151,   156,    164,   166,   167, 
168,  172,  173,  174.  177,  178,  182, 
183,  184,  190,  196. 
Petty,  William,  139. 
Pickering,    Sir   Gilbert,   80. 
Plots,  rumors  of  Fifth  Monarchy, 
79,  102,  107  f.,  171  f.,  186;  army 
plot    in    Scotland,    71  f.,    91  n.; 
Royalist,  89,  129,  187;  Venner's, 
103,    106  ff.,    175;    Venner's   sec- 
ond, 200;  rumors  of  Baptist,  70, 


256 


INDEX 


1 86,  194,  197;  same  in  Ireland, 
144;  rumors  of,  against  Inde- 
pendents and  Baptists,  186;  of 
combined  plot  against  govern- 
ment, 198  f.;  Lambert's  uprising 
in    Northamptonshire,    199. 

Portland,  83. 

Portman,  John,  31,  108  f.,  115, 
129,    17s,   190  n. 

Postlethwaite,  Gualter,  95. 

Powell,  Vavasor,  Fifth  Monarchy 
Baptist,  22;  attitude  toward 
Cromwell,  29,  44  f.;  preaches, 
44  f.,  46;  imprisoned,  45;  re- 
leased, 45;  warrant  issued  for 
arrest  of,  45 ;  escapes  into 
Wales,  45 ;  hymn  of.  Sin.;  ac- 
tivity of,  in  Wales,  63  f.,  90, 
95  f. ;  part  in  petition  to  Crom- 
well from  Wales,  95  f. ;  holds 
meetings,  loi;  signs  Fifth  Mon- 
archy petition,  190  n.;  men- 
tioned, 10  n.,  50,  56,  59  n.,  202, 
203. 

Presbyterians,  5,  18,  60,  62,  63, 
81,  122,  134,  138,  154  f-.  164, 
173,    180,   18s,   194,   198. 

Price,  Richard,  33  n.,  190  n. 

Pride,   Thomas,   71,   124,   185  n. 

Prittie,  Henry,   151. 

"  Proclamation  in  behalf  of  min- 
isters of  tender  consciences  ", 
175- 

Protector  Unvailed,  91,  99. 

Prynne,  William,   175,    190. 

Puritanism,   205. 

Pyncheon,   Philip,    190  n. 

Quakers,    58  n.,     loi,     134,     137  f., 

1S6. 
Queries,  90,  91  n.,  99,  102. 

Radical  party  in  Little  Parliament, 
declaration  of,  33;  numbers,  33; 
policy  respecting  tithes,  34, 
41  f.,  201;  abolition  of  Court  of 
Chancery,  34;  Marriage  Act, 
34;  attitude  toward  law  reform, 
35  f.;  toward  John  Lilburne  and 
Levellers,  37  f.;  part  of  Fifth 
Monarchy    men    in,    201;    men- 


tioned,  39,   40,   49,   60,   68,    108, 

113,  178,  187,  201. 
Raworth,   Mr.,   55. 
Reading,    102. 
"  Reasons  ",    Bramston's   Eighteen, 

73;  Hobson's  Eight,  73,  yj. 
Reeve,    William,   33  n. 
Republicans,    63.      See    also    Com- 
monwealth  party. 
Reynolds,  Sir  John,   148  n.,   160  n., 

161,    162. 
Revelation  of  St.  John,  12,  14,  15, 

18,  22,  25,  79,  86,  116,  119,  127. 
Rich,     Nathaniel,     22,     48,     81  fl., 

105  f.,    107,    109,    no,    117,    184, 

185,  195. 
Richards,   Colonel,    156. 
Richardson,     Samuel,     11,     55,     58, 

65,   99,   120,  202. 

Rogers,  John,  Fifth  Monarchist, 
21  f;  his  church  proposes  an  as- 
sembly of  godly  men,  30;  his 
proposals  to  Cromwell,  47;  at- 
tacks on  government,  50  f.;  his 
hymn,  51  n.;  imprisoned,  52;  re- 
lease demanded  of  Cromwell, 
79;  given  hearing,  80  ff. ;  activity 
during  imprisonment,  84  ff.; 
preaches  in  prison,  85  f. ;  gains 
friendship  of  Courtney  and  Har- 
rison, 89;  released,  89;  refuses 
to  take  part  in  Venner's  plot, 
115;  rumored  participation  in 
plots,  126;  attacks  Cromwell, 
128  f.;  imprisoned,  129;  makes 
suggestions  for  government, 
187  ff.;  mentioned,  31  n.,  34  n., 
54  n.,  55,  59  n.,  64,  65,  137;  let- 
ters,  31  n.,    53  n. 

Rota,  Harrington's,    190. 

Royalists,  40,  62,  75,  79,  89,  109, 
127,    129,    147  n.,    162,    171,    172, 

186,  187,    194,    196,    199,   204. 
Rumsey,   Robert,   190  n. 

Saltonstall,   Richard,    190  n. 

Sandown,    87. 

Sankey,  Hierome,   11,  70,  94,   149, 

150,  158  f.,  160,  162,  168,  177  n., 

185. 


INDEX 


257 


Sarum,  Baptist  church  in,  3. 

Saunders,  Thomas,  11,  70,  185, 
191,    195- 

Savoy   Conference,    173. 

Savoy,    Protestants  of,  89. 

Scotland,  army  plot  in,  71  f.,  91  n.; 
Baptists  in,  74,  134;  loyal  ad- 
dresses from,  74,  130,  202; 
Council  in,  134;  mentioned,  16, 
24  n.,   76. 

Scout,  newspaper,  83  f. 

Seasonable  Word  to  Parliament 
Men,  i8i. 

Sedgwick,  William,  99  n. 

Seekers,   loi. 

Sexby,    Edward,    70. 

Schwenckfeld,   Caspar,   3. 

Shaef,  Gerard,  20  n. 

Shoreditch,    117. 

Simons,   Menno,  3. 

Simpson,  John,  Fifth  Monarchy 
Baptist,  22;  imprisoned,  52  n.; 
released  with  command  not  to 
preach  near  London,  67;  inter- 
viewed by  Cromwell,  67;  de- 
nounces same  at  Whitehall,  97; 
goes  into  hiding,  97;  becomes 
less  violent,  104;  defends  gov- 
ernment against  Feake,  114; 
mentioned,  49,  55,  59  n.,  82,  94, 
98,  202. 

Simpson,  Sidrach,  20  n.,  46  n. 

Skippon,  Philip,  187. 

Smith,   Francis,    11. 

Smith,  John,  7. 

Southwark,  Independent  church 
in,  4. 

Spence,    William,    33  n. 

Spencer,  John,  48,   171,   185,  191  n. 

Spilsbury,  John,  4,  5  n.,  58  n.,  123, 
160,   202. 

Spittlehouse,  John,  22,  56  n.,  59, 
64. 

Squib,  Arthur,  33  n.,  108. 

St.  Anne's,  Blackfriars,  church,  21. 

St.  Botolph's,  Aldgate,  church,  22. 

St.  James's,  rendezvous  of  soldiers 
at,   177. 


St.  Paul's,  church,  38,  49- 

St.  Thomas  the  Apostle,  church  of, 

22,  30,  so. 
Staffordshire,  48. 
Standard  Set   Up,   130. 
Steele,   William,    10,   82,    135,    163, 

167,   169  f.,   192,   202. 
Sterry,  Peter,  41  n. 
Strand,   196. 

Streater,  John,  185,  191,  195. 
Sturgeon,  John,  90,  91  n.,  102. 
Suffolk,   Fifth   Monarchy  party   in, 

100,    113. 
Sussex,  movement  for  petition  in, 

94  f  • 
Swan   .Mley,    Coleman    Street,    17; 

church   at,    52;    Fifth   Monarchy 

meetings    at,     106  ff.,     no,     115, 

132. 
Sydenham,   William,    176. 

Thirty   Years'   War,    13. 

Thurloe,  John,  72  n.,  76,  83,  84, 
91  n.,  97  n.,  98,  99  n.,  100  n., 
104  n.,  106,  108  n.,  109  n., 
lion.,  115  n.,  118,  119,  126, 
127,  147,  148  n.,  153,  138  n.,^ 
160  n.,  161  n.,  162,  165  n.,  166, 
167,   169  n.,   171  n.,   173. 

Tillam,  Thomas,  77. 

Tillinghast,  John,  87  n. 

Tithes,  attitude  toward,  of  Baptists, 
7,  36,  38  n.,  43,  58,  60,  6s,  81, 
95,  185  n.,  201;  of  Fifth  Mon- 
archists, 25,  28,  31  n.,  36,  40, 
43,  48,  60,  65,  68,  94,  113,  131, 
189,  201;  of  Independents,  7, 
36,  43,  169;  of  Long  Parliament, 
20;  of  Little  Parliament,  34,  42; 
of  Cromwell,  67,  120  f.,  132; 
of  second  Protectorate  Parlia- 
ment, 121;  of  Rump,  183  f.; 
Quaker  petition  against,  184;  at- 
titude of  Committee  of  Safety 
toward,  191;  mentioned,  81, 
122  n.,    127,    169,    177. 

Tiverton,    Baptist   church    in,    3. 


2S8 


INDEX 


Toleration,  attitude  toward,  of 
Baptists,  2,  7,  8,  9,  70,  90  n.,  122, 
137  ff.,  195,  200,  202,  203;  of 
Fifth  Monarchists,  69,  113,  189, 
203;  of  Independents,  7;  of  Lev- 
ellers, 69,  70;  of  Cromwell,  76, 
134,  204;  of  Henry  Cromwell, 
159.  163,  165;  of  Rump,  191  n.; 
mentioned,  i,  73,  76,  89,  127, 
177,  203. 

Tombes,  John,   10,  58  n. 

Tower    of    London,    72,    108,    117, 

129,  132,   175,   188  n.,   199. 
Transplantation    in    Ireland,     139, 

14s,   163. 

Trapnel,  Hannah,  49,   50,   loi. 

Triers,  48,  58,  81;  Baptist  attitude 
toward,  65;  Fifth  Monarchy  at- 
titude toward,  67,  114,  131. 

Triploe  Heath,  Agreement  of, 
12  n. 

Turks,  part  of,  in  Fifth  Monarchy 
program,   15,   16,  23. 

Tweeddale,    Lord,    91  n. 

Ulster,    158. 

Venner,  Thomas,    103,   108  f.,   no, 

130.  175,  200;  Venner's  plot, 
1657,  106  ff.,  175;  Venner's  sec- 
ond plot,  200. 

Vernon,  John,  133,  140,  141,  150, 
153.  154.  iSS  f-,  160,  162,  165, 
168,  172,  iSs,  199,  202;  letter, 
137  n.,    141,    168  n. 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  29,  89,  109,  174, 
184,   186,   187,   188,   191. 

Violence,  attitude  toward,  of 
Baptists,  2,  9,  73,  100,  19s;  of 
Fifth  Monarchists,  14,  26  f., 
52  ff.,  55,  72<  80  f.,  83  f.,  100, 
103  f.,  in,  119,  126  f.,  130  f.; 
of  Independents,  14;  mentioned, 
54  n. 


Wales,  message  from  North 
Wales,  30;  petitions  from,  63  f., 
95  ff.;  Baptists  in,  90,  121,  203; 
Baptist  address  from,  99,  160; 
letter  to  Welsh  churches  from 
Dublin  Baptists,  161;  men- 
tioned, 22,  46,  68,  82,  loi,  113  n. 

Wallingford  House,  157,  173,  176, 
184. 

Waterford,  137,  139,  142  n.,  154, 
155- 

West  Indian  expedition,  93  f.,  97, 
112,    131. 

Westminster,    195. 

Whalley,  Edward,  72  n.,  97,  98  n., 
99  n. 

Whichcote,   Christopher,   87  n. 

White,    Colonel,    187. 

Whitehall,  29,  45,  49,  64,  66,  (>y, 
79,  84,  94,  97,  117.  163,  176, 
177. 

White's  Alley,  Coleman  Street, 
Fifth  Monarchy  meetings  at, 
107  n. 

Wigan,  John,  11,  185,  187  n., 
190  n. 

Wight,  Isle  of,  83,  87,  188  n. 

Wildman,  John,   70. 

Wilkes,  Timothy,  192  n. 

William  the  Conqueror,  23. 

Williams,  John,  33  n.,  63,  95. 

Williams,    Roger,   8. 

Windsor,  Agreement  of,    12  n. 

Windsor  Castle,  46,  50,  51,  83,  84, 
85,  87  n.,  89,   106  n.,   179. 

Winter,  Samuel,  161  n. 

Worcester,   19. 

W.ord  for  God,  95  ff.,  99,   100. 

Yarmouth,    199. 

Zechariah,  book  of,  22,   126. 
Zeeland,    English   congregation   in, 

4- 
Zephaniah,    127. 


Date  Due 

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